The art of pantomime may have been just for Christmas for many decades, widening up to the Easter period of late, and indeed seen to have been for kids for that matter, but the likes of Joseph Purdy Productions - among others - have decided that there is a gap in the market for the adults to get a piece of the action and indulge in the release through frivolity and down-right rude- and naughti-ness.
The venue (and first stop of the UK tour): two sold-out nights at The Dancehouse, Manchester. The show: an adapted version of the classic, Sinderella. The concept: adult humour with stars from the small screen of reality TV, talent and industry from across Greater Manchester, the North and pond (US). The risk: managing egos and an overwhelming cast of mainly LGBTQ+ actors and drag queens and camp characters. The problem: timing, or the evident lack of it.
Explained, the show as a whole is brilliant. A fun night out full of laughter, camp and plenty of naughtiness. With the majority of the audience from the LGBT community, it was clear that they had come together from all across Greater Manchester and even as far as London and Brighton! And why ever not? With the likes of RuPaul’s Drag Race’s Stacy Layne Matthews (Season 3 and All Stars Season 4) making her trip from North Carolina to be our Fairy Drag Henny and the incredible Divina De Campo (from BBC’s The Voice, All Together Now, and RuPaul’s Drag Race UK) playing Baroness DDC, both leading the cast, it was sure to be a spectacle, especially considering Divina had been at London’s DragCon earlier in the day. That said, that was not the reason for the 35-minute delay in starting the show; that was the fault of the Meet and Greet pre-show. With a listed start of 7.15, the bar was well and truly crowded, but people did have the chance to purchase merchandise and a programme littered with errors. I believe the Gin-derella cocktail went down well though.
With, Ibiza Weekender star, David Potts playing man servant (not quite), Dandini, to Rob King’s Prince Charming, we had a balance of stardom - or so we thought. (Although he has no biography in the programme, Rob has been on Britain’s Got Talent and is also one of the 100 judges on BBC’s All Together Now, with Divina). That was before Sheffield-born Jamie Campbell (the inspiration for the award-winning hit musical ‘Everybody’s Talking About Jamie’) entered as alter-ego Fifi alongside fellow Ugly Sister Freida (and Choreographer Troy Harris, whose dancers included Ross McNally, Blake Wilson, Kris Gazey and Steph Knight). Their roles seemed to lack something though. With, Glaswegian, Julie Hutchinson Alberts taking the title role, we were set, but with the often forgetful occurence (either rehearsed of under-rehearsed) from his peers, comedyman Davey Hooper kept the show together, as Buttons.
You all know the story - girl has 2 sisters and a stepmother who treat her badly, she meets a guy, whilst looking for wood in the forest, who pretends to be something he’s not. They sing, dance (and other stuff, apparently) and declare their admiration for one another and she disappears (just like on a dating app). He tries to find her by holding a ball (aha, I mean the dinner/gala kind) in the hope that he will find her in the room full of other women trying to get a piece of him. She randomly/magically gets possession of a dress, invitation and gets there (to the ball) in a carriage made from a pumpkin (if only it had fit onto the stage) and they dance, sing (and do other stuff) and she has to disappear again (wow, ghosting for real). He commands (ooh, Dom) that the slipper that she left behind be tried on by every women in Stoneybrook village, in order to find her and never let her go again. Meanwhile Buttons gets friend-zoned, her family are all bitchy and time is ticking. Obviously, I mean eventually, he finds her and she gets her happy ending after all, well I guess everyone does.
With music that - was rather unexpected if you believe the overture which features a song from Disney’s Sleeping Beauty - is piped but works well (especially as sound man Aaron Barker knows how to use the faders on the sound board, featuring Walking On Sunshine, You’ve Got That One Thing, (Blame It On My) Juice, Hold My Hand, Love Me Like You Do, Don’t Cha, Shut Up And Dance With Me, It’s Raining Men, The Friends Theme (I’ll Be There For You), a Priscilla The Musical medley and even Break Up (Bye, Bye) from the UK season of Drag Race by The Frock Destroyers, there is no wonder that this show is absolutely filled with uniqueness, nerve and talent.
With a tour spanning the whole of the UK, until mid-February, the posse, under the direction of Jamie Jones, returns to the North West on 7th February in Southport, 10th in Colne, 12th for a highly-anticipated show at Liverpool Empire and a second and final performance at Funny Girls in Blackpool on 15th. We wish them well.
Reviewer - John Kristof
on - 18/1/20
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