Cinderella – a review

This years panto, Cinderella, was an experience from start to finish. The audience were instantly engaged in the story telling of the fabulous fairy godmother brought alive by Lucy Davenport. Full of music, singing, dancing, thrills, laughs and banter, this production was the best I have seen in a long time. The chorus line were as always delightful to watch and interacted well with the main cast. The teenagers in the company were well cast as there roles and adopted them well whilst working with the more experienced (grey haired) cast.

Probably the strongest main cast Audlem Theatre Company has ever had, with Sarah Shillito as Cinderella, David Davenport playing Buttons, the script was full of giggles for all ages and pitched perfectly at the target audience. The use of a professional writer introduces a new dynamic to the cast enabling them to focus on delivering the authentic fairy tale panto. The cast have focused on telling the story this year and it shows. The two sets of comedy duos, both good and bad were directed brilliantly and fun and boos continued throughout.

The addition of new costumes has been a huge benefit to the group and I know they are going to focus more on this for future projects.

The choreography was excellent, pushing the cast members to new limits and the musical numbers were fun, and an introduction of new lighting FX were well executed and helped to create the scene.

The twist to the story at the end was fabulous and brought about a different experience for the audience whilst remaining true to the original characters.

Can't wait to see the next project, keep moving forward!