Darlington Hippodrome – until 31 December 2021
3.5***
There’s nothing quite like a good pantomime to get you in the festive mood (oh yes there is!) and with a great big dollop of comedy, a smattering of tunes and a sprinkling of fairy dust you’ve got all the ingredients for a successful show.
Fay Tozer leads the show as Fairy Godmother and pretty much steals the show, meaning that the rest of the cast have a much smaller role with all our focus on the Fairy Godmother. Being a singer, Tozer is given plenty to sing about and lightens up the stage with shining talent.
The Ugly Sisters Hernia (Peter Peverley)) and Verruca (Phil Corbitt) were wonderfully over the top but woefully under used. Their garish costumes, outlandish make-up and wonderful wigs are incredibly colourful and they are the baddies of the show, but they needed more stage presence than what they had which was a shame.
Jacob Leeson was charming as Charming and Spin was a delightful dancing Dandini. Tanisha Butterfield was a perfect Cinderella in her first professional role. It was good to see a little girl dressed in her Princess finest get excited in the interval because, unlike the blonde haired, blued eyed Disney version, she was being represented on stage, inclusion at its finest
Patrick Monahan plays the lovable but dopey Buttons. He was at his best when he strayed from the script and began to ad lib. He worked well with Faye Tozer and the Ugly Sisters and their 12 Days of Christmas routine was ridiculously funny.
The first half covers most of the key traditional elements and introduces poor downtrodden Cinders, the cruel, spectacularly attired Ugly Sisters, the handsome prince, the nice but dim Buttons – and The Fairy Godmother. In the second act, we get the ball and the search for the owner of the glass slipper and the Happy Ever After
The hi-lights for me were the gorgeous, well-behaved Shetland Ponies pulling Cinderella’s coach and the spectacular finale where we were treated to a medley of Steps songs from Tozer.
Cinderella is a classic panto, fun for the whole family from 3 to 93, get to see it while you still can