Cinderella lives in the shadow of her two self-identifying ‘ugly’ stepsisters, Pimple and Dimple. Having met the tall, lanky, prince of Antrim & Newtownabbey Borough at the town market, Cinderella fully intends to go to the lavish Christmas party he’s throwing to find a wife. Sour Bake Stepma ran off to the sun leaving her household of daughters to fend for themselves. She video calls her children to coach them through a depraved plan to deprive Cinderella of the opportunity, and of daylight, by luring her down to the cellar to make a TikTok dance video and then locking her up. But good buddy Zip – complete with audience callout and actions – is hanging around eavesdropping and overhears their plans. With his help and the guidance of Fairy G, maybe Cinderella’s dreams can come true?
An opening musical number introduces some of the important characters. Lennin McClure plays Zip as well as the prince’s advisor Mucker. He quickly wows us ‘peeps in the seats’ with his acrobatics, before shimmying up to hang above the action listening to the evil plans being concocted. McClure’s aerial antics on the silks are likely to be unique across Christmas pantos in Northern Ireland this year. Joe Springhall plays the cool royal, channelling his inner Prince Harry. Together with Mucker, the pair end up throwing a couple of very different big royal balls.
The show’s titular character tries hard to stand up for herself. Ellen Hasson makes Cinderella sweet and sassy, a modern girl who takes small steps and guards her privacy rather than being rash and needy. But is wholesome charm a match for the cussed evil stepsisters Pimple (Cheryl O’Dwyer) and Dimple (Eimear O’Neill who double roles as Fairy G with a beautiful singing voice that blends so well with Cinderella/Hasson).
The general atmosphere of this family-friendly show is one of relaxed pandemonium. The noisy stalls are matched by the histrionics on stage, although some of the lyrics get lost under the pumping backing tracks. It’s a pantomime, so the script and sound effects go heavy on crowd-pleasing fart jokes, and given the questions I could overhear during the show, I fully expect one child sitting behind me to finally demand a detailed answer to her question “What’s IBS?” on the way home!
There are some lovely touches. Cinderella’s coach to the ball is very neatly lit and constructed. Light up glasses provide a fun party effect. And it snows, a necessary part of any serious show set at Christmas! The opening of the second act brings the action right into the auditorium and neatly counteracts any disruption from punters returning late from the bar. Later, a few audience members get their feet sized up against the abandoned glittery slipper. The appearance of a bird on stage is momentarily important to the plot but still bewildereds me!
Well-sung cover versions add energy to proceedings, and
Raining Tacos was a huge hit with the young audience joining in and singing out without needing to be asked. The kitchen utensil guests at the ball were somewhat surreal but fired up the imagination of junior brains. The script is peppered with lots of local references that delight citizens of the borough, particularly when the lonely prince seeks a relationship that will be full of sparks and fireworks “like Rathcoole on the Eleventh Night”!
The five principle cast members are joined by another three in the ensemble (from a nine-strong rotating community cast). And at my show, the actors were aided during the second act by a good-spirited John in the stalls. Olivia Nash regularly beams in as Sour Bake Stepma from her sunny hotspot.
Cinderella was penned, produced, directed (and more) by Sarah Lyle, whose fingers may also have sewn some of the costumes. It’s a real labour of love, and audience members young and old had a blast when I was there for Saturday’s matinee.
Cinderella is a panto with all the trimmings. The
Yellow Jumper Productions’ show continues
at Theatre at the Mill until Monday 30 December.
Photo credit: Gorgeous Photography (Melissa Gordon)
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