Cinderella - Opera House - 11/12/07 by Richard Graham

Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls… Once again the silly season of pantomime is with us and to celebrate this it seems half the cast of Coronation Street are being photographed outside The Opera House. It’s hardly surprising, taking to the stage tonight in the popular fairytale Cinderella are two of the streets most famous residents. Tonight, Matthew, it seems Sarah-Louise Platt (Tina O’ Brien) is going to be Cinderella and supporting her is no less than the infamous Mike Baldwin (Johnny Briggs) as Baron Hardup. It hasn’t gone unnoticed either, packed to the rafters expectant children, parents and office parties wait with tangible excitement for their annual treat of audience participation, fun and games and, of course, the obligatory mayhem mixed with a slice of madness and improvisation. The lights dim, the sweets are noisily munched, glow sticks (AKA - magic wands) are raised, and we’re off…

Now we all know the story, but as a reminder, Cinderella lives at home with her father, her stepmother and her stepmother’s two daughters. She is treated very badly by her stepmother and stepsisters who leave her to do all the housework. Her only friend is Buttons, and one day an invitation comes from the royal palace to attend a grand ball to be held in honour of the Prince. Cinderella is not allowed to attend the ball but coming to her rescue is her fairy godmother. Using her magic (and a bizarre mix of vermin and vegetables) to send her to the ball in style she is immediately noticed by the Prince. Forced to flee the ball before midnight, when the magic wears off, she rushes away leaving only a single glass slipper behind. The Prince, having fallen in love, searches the Kingdom having declared his bride will be the lady whose foot fits the glass slipper. It all, unsurprisingly, ends happily ever after.

Set in front of an ever-changing backdrop we were quickly introduced to all the characters. First up was Buttons (played adeptly by Steve Walls) who was charged with the act of entertaining the crowd. Like a loaded Gatling Gun of lame (but hilarious) jokes he quickly stole the show. Quick to follow and welcomed by the screams of ‘Cinderella!’ from the hundreds of children the main protagonist looked simply gorgeous. Not quite as pretty, but certainly not ugly- just pretty ugly - the two stepsisters Paris (Roger Kitter) and Britney (Steve Luck) then strutted onstage like wannabee Spice Girls vs Cruella De Vil. Pantomime at its very best they entertained the kids with slapstick comedy and just as importantly the adults with innuendos aimed well above the children’s heads. Not long after came Baron Hardup and then Prince Charming (played by Key 103’s Mike Toolan) and his loyal manservant Dandini (Richard Reynard). During the tale we were also introduced to the fairy godmother played by Bernie Nolan, who as you would expect, lifted the singing standards during her performances.

Now this reviewer is hardly the ideal target audience for the show. Thinking back he cannot even remember when he last saw a pantomime and being forever the cynic challenged the cast to make him enjoy himself. Within moments of the pantomime starting the cast had already won. What followed was a rollercoaster of fun with slapstick comedy, fantastic choreography, great costumes and hilarious in-between set routines that frequently descended into barely in-control farce. Having been described as a traditional pantomime with a modern day twist references to X-Factor, Catherine Tate (Bovvered??) and YouTube nestled in-between a soundtrack (provided by a live orchestra) that ranged from the Scissor Sisters to Take That. Whilst at times it did feel a bit like the awful (but very popular with children) High School Musical it was still loaded with more than enough jokes to make this reviewer grin from ear to ear and laugh out loud on several occasions. And yes, he did enthusiastically shout ‘she’s behind you!!’ before realising that he was, ahem, far too responsible to be doing such things.

Hardly Shakespeare this is a pantomime and a damn good one at that. Packed full of great moments it’s actually the backing cast that shine the brightest and standout performances have to be awarded to Buttons, Dandini and (Boo!) the stepsisters. Now there’s a sentence this reviewer never thought he would write…