Joy Watters reviews a panto that 'ultimately sweeps an audience along with its sheer warmth'.
Theatre company Bard in the Botanics returns to the Byre this year with a big, bold, noisy version of Cinderella channelling TV hit Strictly Come Dancing. The lights go up and crisscross the audience to give that showbiz feel right from the start.
Written and directed by Gordon Barr, this version tells of the twinkled toed Prince looking for a dance partner with the girls jostling for the position. A talented youth cast joins the professionals and excels itself.
The wicked stepmother is a dance teacher with her daughters, the ugly sisters, plotting to be the prince’s partner. The pair are Windolene and Harpic. The former is known as Windy and lives up to her name on a regular basis drawing naughty chuckles from the audience. Alan Steele is a wonderful, Windy having great rapport with the audience. Robert Elkin’s Harpic is just a beat behind in the quick-fire dialogue, appearing to have just woken up.
Stephen Arden is a supremely suave Prince, ever so posh and deeply in love with himself with some nice dance moves.
The course of true love does not run smooth, but Cinders gets it all buttoned up in the end. Lynne Jenkinson makes a sweet Cinderella and Tom Duncan endears as her ever faithful Buttons.
Donna Hazelton’s accident-prone Fairy godmother is a nice touch. She doubles as the wicked stepmother less successfully with more than a passing resemblance to Phyllis Diller but not so bonkers.
It is a bit of a roller coaster of a show but ultimately it sweeps an audience along with its sheer warmth, engaging all ages with its festive feel.
Runs at The Byre until January 2, 2016.
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