Epstein Theatre, Liverpool – until 5 January 2020
Reviewed by Amy Nash
5*****
Cinderella is one of the classic pantos you expect to see pop up at Christmastime, but Regal Entertainments Ltd bring it to the Epstein Theatre with a fresh, distinctly Liverpudlian flair. Jane Joseph’s writing is a joy to experience, bringing expected panto charm together with lashings of Scouse wit. This performance never quite lets you forget where you are, bringing in plenty of tongue-in-cheek references to the local area through Buttons’ interactions with the audience, which are always welcome with the brilliant Lewis Devine at the helm. The song choices are also fantastic – a mix of classic love songs and retro pop (including Dolly Partons’ “9 to 5” as a cracker of an opening number for Sammy Winward’s Cinderella) with modern hits like George Ezra’s “Shotgun” coming in to keep things contemporary.
For me, the Ugly Sisters are always the highlight of a production of Cinderella, and Crissy Rock and Sarah White didn’t disappoint. Loud, shameless and gut-achingly funny, their raunchy rendition of “Sweet but a Psycho” had the audience crying with laughter. Regal Entertainments Ltd’s costume design was beautiful throughout, but truly stepped up to another level when it came to dressing the Ugly Sisters – they strutted out in a new costume in just about every scene. My personal favourite was their “Bags for Life” ensemble; after what seemed like a throwaway joke from Buttons (Lewis Devine), the sisters burst onto the stage dressed as Tesco and Asda, branding and colourful wigs and all.
Cinderella (Sammy Winward) and Prince Charming (Andrew Geater) were the absolute perfect match. They were both effortlessly charming, with beautiful, clear singing voices, able to easily capture your heart with their earnest performances. But the standout star vocally has to be Samantha Palin as the Fairy Godmother – right before intermission she was let loose showing the audience just how astonishingly talented she is in that regard. Regal Entertainments Ltd have truly brought together one of the most charming panto casts I’ve ever seen on the stage.
Their set design was everything it needed to be: detailed backgrounds and props dropped you right into a fairytale wonderland, and it was a delight to see the set used in more creative ways throughout the performance. As Samantha Palin and Lewis Devine celebrated the ball with Joe Cocker’s “Up Where We Belong“, some nefarious meddling from the Ugly Sisters led to the stage and sets themselves turning against the performance – it was simply comedic gold. The interactive 3D scene (devised by Accolade Productions) was also wonderfully inventive, leading to many a shriek and scream from the children in the audience.
Finally, one last mention has to go to the choreography by Nazene Langfield. Not only was it dynamic and fun, it showcased the talents of the ensemble expertly. The dance performances fleshed out every musical number, switching up their style perfectly to match the variety of songs on offer.
Cinderella proved to be an evening of pure unfiltered joy – well worth seeing before it leaves the ball on Sunday 5th January. Regal Entertainments Ltd will also be back at the Epstein over Easter (10th-19th April 2020) performing Beauty and the Beast, so keep an eye out for that too!