Yvonne Arnaud – until 6th January 2019
Reviewed by Heather Chalkley
4****
This is a fully inflated panto with two caricature dames centre stage. There are classic annual scenes that the audience know are coming and give a cheer of anticipation. Alongside traditional panto shenanigans and terrible jokes, you have current tunes from The Greatest Showman and Baby Shark. Entertaining, however I have seen better written scripts that allow a smoother flow in the performance.
Buttons (Jamie Brook) is a lovable character, played just silly enough so that the children in the audience instantly liked him. Georgie Leatherland (Cinderella) and Cameron Burt (Prince Charming) are your average star crossed lovers, giving the story line its substance.
Stand out performances go to The Ugly Sisters, Coleen (Peter Gordon) and Kimmy (Nick Barclay) who are a little more aggressive in their bullying than I have seen before, ramping up their evil roles. This is complemented by their hilarious facial contortions, oversized costumes
and wigs.
By far the best performance of the night for me goes to Kit Hesketh-Harvey (Dandini), struggling to play nice when he usually plays the villain! His liquid tones draw you in to an adult world of humour that you cannot resist. This is counterbalanced by Michelle Gayle (Fairy Sweetness) and her dulcet tones.
Director Jamie Smith and his creatives have created a feast of sparkles and colour for the eye, with slick scene changes and a variety of music. The ensemble danced and sang beautifully, bringing the whole thing to life. Generally a good offering for the festive season.