cinderella and prince

Martha-Frances Henry as Cinderella and Jack Cordingley as Prince Charming

Cinderella

The Swan Theatre, Worcester

****

Fairy tale, romance, humour and a pair of pantomime dames combine once more in this favourite of Christmas pantos to provide a great performance for the enjoyment of all the family at The Swan Theatre.

Ian Good combines acting one of the ugly sisters with the overall direction of the show which has all the right ingredients to keep the audience entertained and engaged in the story. It has loads of colour, movement, pace and humour. Satisfyingly the good and innocent Cinderella triumphs over evil, but reassuringly the evil is pretty tame!

The involvement of young dancers adds great charm to the show alongside the professionals and lead cast members. When Aaron Corbett who acts the part of Dandini joins them in a dance, he momentarily steals the show with a tour de force!

All the parts are played well. The young lovers, Martha-Frances Henry (Cinderella) and Jack Cordingley (Prince Charming) sang and moved well, the Ians, Good and Parkin, were an excellent complimentary pair of ugly sisters, Nathan Blyth, a heart-warming Buttons who won the hearts of the audience. Jess Elmer played the fairy Godmother as well as directing the choreography which was excellent.

Visually this was an excellent show. Gareth Morgan’s stage design was complimented by the brilliant costumes (Kate Butterworth), and lighting design and effects (Ben Merrick) to great effect: we had great variety, colour and coherence; the scene at the end of Act One when Cinderella is whisked off in the magical carriage was brilliantly executed.

Pantomimes would not be the same without the music: the songs and the musical direction were excellent, though the balance on the PA at times needed a slight rebalancing.

The show runs until early January which gives time for the chemistry to become even stronger. This excellent production is professional, slick and ticks all the boxes for a light-hearted and satisfying show!

Tim Crow

03-12-22  

Worcester Theatres

Index page  Reviews A-Z Reviews by Theatre