It's panto time again... oh yes it is!
Buxton Opera House's traditional family fayre this year was the ever-popular story of Cinderella, directed by Opera House favourite, Paul Kerryson.
Full of local references, setting the show in the village of High Peak in Buxtonia, the appeal was apparent, and the traditional elements of the show came right from the off as the Fairy Godmother (Charlotte Hannah Jones) with her dulcet Welsh intonation started the show in rhyme on Stage Right, interrupted by the Witch (Amy Cray Edgell) entering Stage Left in a green wash.
The upbeat, contemporary (almost!) songs, were sung brilliantly throughout, giving the show a rock-chick vibe, with standards such as 'The Shoop Shoop Song', '(You're Simply) The Best', and 'River Deep And Mountain High'. whilst a team of ensemble dancers helped with some rather nifty choreography. It really was a shame though that the company missed out on not including a group of young dancers from a local dancing school. They would have filled the stage out much more (it looked rather bare and spare at times), and added to the spectacle and ah factor.
James Holmes and David Dale worked well together as the Ugly Sisters, imbuing their characters with the right amount of both vitriol and campness. In a venue such as Buxton's Opera House, breaking the fourth wall and entering into any relationship with the audience is much more difficult than in some theatres which do not have a high stage on a prosc, arch; but they tried hard to banter as much as possible, although sadly some of the traditional responses did not go on for long enough. Georgia Gallagher was an almost perfect Cinderella. Pitching her character just right between demure obeisance and gutsy single-mindedness, we actually had a three-dimensional character rather than the usual cardboard cut-out! And she had a beautiful and powerful singing voice to boot! Ross Clifton was a suave and nimble Price, dancing and bopping his way through his charm; and Fairy Godmother Jones's powerful rock ballad voice was made ample use of, especially in the second act. Aidan Bailey was full of that youthful energy and spring-in-the-step needed to work the young audience and be loved by them as Buttons. The one character that seemed a little out-of-kilter, was Buns (Felix Prince). This was a large and very tall rabbit (a man in a costume). The problem with this is that he was far more scary than cuddly. Big black eyes, large protruding teeth, and a line in arrogant gestures (all in mime), made him stand-offish and not at all friendly.
Bright and colourful sets, plenty of fabulous costume changes, several traditional routines (some of which worked much better than others), a fabulous transformation for Cinderella, and a few risque and adult jokes thrown in for good measure - I loved the "me khazi you khazi" line, which no-one else got! - make this a fun, traditional, and family-friendly spectacle for the festive season, and one of the best pantos this reviewer has witnessed so far this season.
Reviewer - Matthew Dougall
on - 17.12.23
on - 17.12.23
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