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Cinderella Birmingham Hippodrome ***** IT'S glitzy, spectacular, funny, slick,
fast paced, doesn't frighten horses, grannies or toddlers and has just
about everything you could ask for in a traditional panto – a glorious
evening's entertainment for all the family.. And they do not come
much more traditional than Cinderella, billed quite rightly as
The Greatest Pantomime of Them All.
It is a fairy tale everyone knows and loves with its downtrodden
heroine, ugly sister baddies, Jack-the-lad Buttons, a handsome prince, a
fairy godmother and that iconic glass slipper. Last year's show had more stars than the Milky
Way battling for attention but this year it goes back to basics, a panto
like those we used to remember, relying on that master of the craft. oh
yes he is, Brian Conley, in his fifth Hippodrome panto, to take us by
the hand through the familiar story. He has that wonderful gift possessed by a small
handful of performers such as the late Tommy Cooper or Alan Briscoe of
Dandy that they only have to walk on stage, without even doing anything,
and you are already starting to laugh. He looks and sounds as if he is having the time
of his life and makes you feel you are his best mate and the jokes are
for your benefit. Brian Conley as Buttons and Lynda Bellingham as the Fairy Godmother He has the sort of personality and stage presence
that fills any theatre but he was well supported starting with the posh
frocks and sparkle of Lynda You would never guess she was a panto newcomer,
taking to the part like a duck to water – or probably orange sauce at
this time of year. Basil Brush, boom boom and all that, plays Baron
Basil, which is really just Basil. The foxy puppet is in his 42nd
year in show business and is still the same as ever with jokes that
range from the witty to the painfully corny. Kathyn Rooney as Cinderella cuts down on travel
costs for producers Qdos, hailing as she does from Solihull.
She was Alice Fitzwarren in last year's Dick
Whittington and makes an equally pretty heroine this time around as well
with more opportunity to show off her pleasing voice.
Making her life hell are Martin Ramsdin and David
Robbins as the Ugly Sisters and what splendid dames they are with
fabulously bizarre costumes from chandeliers to fruit that they design
and create themselves. So they are not just a . . . well, ugly face
then. Matthew Goodgame makes a handsome and dashing
Prince Charming with a fine voice even in a somewhat fraught trio with
Cinders and Buttons in a rendition of (Everything I do) I do it for
you. The song spent 16 weeks at the top of the charts but none of
the three managed 16 seconds on top of a wall in what was more of a
freestyle wresting version. His sidekick is Dan Burton as Dandini who lets
rip with an up-temp number at the ball which, like the rest of the show,
has some slick choreography from Paul Robinson although I am not too
sure about the crinoline tutus for the ladies of the ensemble. The scenery and sets by Ian Westbrook were
sumptuous and used the whole of the huge Hippodrome stage and there were
enough pyrotechnics to keep a decent sized bonfire party going. Even
that gave us a warm waft of nostalgia as the smoke drifted across the
audience with that unmistakable smell we used to get from rolls of caps
firing away in the cowboy guns of childhood. Ah, happy days. The show had its special effect moments with
Pegasus, the flying horse taking to the air with Cinders in her coach
with no visible means of support thanks to lots of smoke and clever
lighting from Ben Cracknell. And the same trick was used with Conley taking to
the skies on a motor bike, All The Fun of the Fair, style. The costumes too were elegant and rich in a show
which gave the impression no expense had been spared but for all that
though the star of the show was Charlie, a rather gorgeous Palomino
horse who went through his repertoire of tricks from bowing and crossing
his legs to doing impressions and even lying down to go to bed as Conley
sang a lullaby. He was closely followed by Tina, a woman from
Solihull dragged from the audience to help Conley with a song - and a
whole showful of patter from then on as she got more mentions than
Cinders and then there were the children! Four youngsters were brought
up from the stalls to unwittingly become an act on their own.
There was the little girl who burst into tears
because she wanted to go to the toilet so Conley sent her off with her
dad - and we waited for her return to sing Old Macdonald. She was so shy
dad had to sing her part. Then there was the lad who didn't know what sound
cows made so praise the Lord finally for five year old Olivia who
insisted in lifting up her dress but at least knew what pigs sounded
like and rattled through the rest of the song unaided. The kids left with the obligitary goody bag with
Olivia having an extra present of a teddy bear. As Conley said as she
left: “She will never ever forget this – and that is the magic of
pantomime.” For once he was serious. He had done his job,
entertaining an audience aged from three to 93 equally and showing
children, many on their first visit, the real magic and wonderful world
of live theatre. Directed by Michael Harrison, Cinderella runs to
29-01-11. Roger Clarke Brian Conley will be back at the Hippodrome
in April, 2012 as Fagin in Oliver! and will star in Robinson Crusoe and
the Caribbean Pirates, next year's Hippodrome pant. Lynda Bellinghamam will put away her wand
when Cinderella ends on January 29 and get her posh frock off ready to
open at the Hippodrome in Calendar Gilrs the following Tuesday, January
31.
Meanwhile with the
glass slipper on the other foot **** PEOPLE in the acting
profession are advised never to work with children or animals, and the
stars of this spectacular pantomime certainly receive some stiff
competition from both. Not that master entertainer
Brian Conley (Buttons) or veteran actress Lynda Bellingham (Fairy
Godmother) will worry too much, because four kiddies and two horses make
a big contribution to the success of this traditional Christmas show. The two little girls and two
little boys join Conley on stage towards the end of the panto and there
were howls of laughter on opening night when one of the girls began to
sob and dad had to nip on stage and escort her to the loo! She returned to the stage to
join in a chorus of Old McDonald Had a Farm. This has been a successful
ploy for the star for yonks – my own grand daughter, Sian, appeared with
him in the spotlight at the Hippodrome about 14 years ago.
And the horses? One remarkable
mechanical stallion flies above the orchestra towing Cinderella's
glittering coach en route to the ball, and a wonderful real chestnut
horse looks almost human as he responds to Conley's commands. Oh, and
talking of animals, dear old Basil Brush appears as Baron Basil. Solihull's Kathryn Rooney – I
remember reviewing her as a kid in the BMOS Youtheatre – is ideal as
Cinderella, and there are fine performances from Martin Ramsdin and
David Robbins, the Ugly Sisters...never have so many magnificent
costumes been worn by two ‘women' without improving their attraction one
iota. Matthew Goodgame (Prince
Charming) and Dan Burton (Dandini) complete the leads. This is Conley's fifth
Hippodrome panto, and he will be back in 2012 with Robinson Crusoe. You
can't keep a good man down, even though he mentions his demise as a TV
performer. Watching him work the audience
so well you can only wonder why he isn't still appearing on our screens. Michael Harrison is executive
producer and director of the country's biggest pantomime, and Robert
Willis is musical director. To 29.01.12 Paul Marston
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