Mayflower, Southampton – until 2 January 2022
Reviewed by Emma Barnes
5*****
Director Thom Southerland’s first pantomime, brought to Southampton by Crossroads Live was a massive success with every member of our family. There is nothing like a dose of familiar tunes, lashings of comedy, a few pinches of magic and a Fairy Godmother to get the festive season started.
Craig Revel Horwood returns to the Mayflower Theatre as the Wicked Stepmother, Debbie McGee as the Fairy Godmother. Richard Cadell is a superb Buttons with help from Sooty and his water pistol to cause all sorts of hilarity on stage.
Special mention must also go to Will Richardson as Prince Charming and Georgia Carr as Cinderella who gave fantastic vocal performances.
It is clear to see why this production is so popular. True to the traditional boy meets girl plot, we join Cinderella in her journey from rags to riches, thwarting the ugly sisters and winning her dashing Prince Charming. There is the glamour, glitter and of course dancing at the ball, the search for the owner of the slipper and the inevitable happily ever after ending.
Craig Revel Horwood is the dastardly and villainous Step Mother and pulls off the role to perfection without scaring the younger members of the audience. We loved the increasingly extravagant costumes, amazing singing and the fab- u -lus dancing. Debbie McGee is a magical and characterful Fairy Godmother , the odd glitch and word stumble left the cast and audience in stitches and were so well managed that we struggled to know whether it had been deliberate.
The scene that had us howling with laughter was the ridiculously farcical slapstick routine in the woods, the timing and comedy effect of which was superbly executed. Cinderella’s flying carriage took our breath away and impressive magic throughout added unexpected interest. We also enjoyed the song parodies throughout.
Cinderella was everything a pantomime should be and more. The traditional panto aspects such as shouting “it’s behind you” , the innuendos, the gags, booing the baddies, magnificent costumes, spectacular visual effects, smoke and fireworks were all there. A family friendly panto that rekindled our love for live theatre and had every member of our family laughing from start to finish.