Yeadon Town Hall – until Saturday 25 January 2020
Reviewed by Aimee Liddington
4****
Enter into a world of classic pantomime entertainment with Yeadon Charities Association’s presentation of this classic fairy tale. The production follows the timeless story we all know too well of the kind and gentle Cinderella, who is pushed around by her ugly stepsisters and evil step-mother. Then, with a little help from a fairy friend, she meets the love of her life in Prince Charming and justice prevails. This interpretation gives us everything we expect from a pantomime: obvious slapstick humour, audience participation and the more ‘subtle’ innuendos for the adults in the audience. With his script, Tom Whalley has introduced content which is sure to resonate with the audience in Yeadon and its surrounding areas.
The actors handle the audience extremely well. Small blunders are smoothed over with direct address to the audience. This only adds to the humour and eventually it is impossible to tell whether these ‘side notes’ are actually built into the act. Buttons, who is played by Ian Mottram, deserves a lot of the credit for the humour in this production. His one-liners and general mannerisms defy anyone not to crack a smile. Further mention should go to the dynamic duo of Richard Atkinson and Rick Hoddy who play the ugly stepsisters, Bella Needs-A-Fella and Stella Artois. These two are entertaining even when they are not part of the main action on the stage. You only need to keep your eye on them to catch their hilarious facial expressions and body language at trying to keep in character as women.
Any production would not be complete without the creative and production team. Alison Sandoval, Justine Moglia and Sharon Walley deserve a huge congratulations for their costume designs. The transformation scene where Cinderella’s dress evolves from rags to riches is incredibly impressive. The costume is faultless and it is obvious that a lot of work has gone into the design of it. Additionally, the lighting design by Tom Hughes certainly highlights the fairy magic with the use of the disco ball and even sparks of fire.
Finally, along with the script, the music is kept relevant with well-known songs that have been adapted slightly to work better with the story. The Band perform flawlessly and their contribution to the production pulls everything together effortlessly.
Get yourself down to Yeadon Town Hall for some good, old fashioned family fun with Yeadon Charities Association production of Cinderella: The Magical Pantomime.