THE AUDIENCE certainly had a ball at All and Sundry’s Cinderella which many feel is the most magical pantomime of them all.
The rags to riches tale was beautifully told by those on the stage through almost three hours of fabulously festive entertainment.
The great thing about Cinderella for panto fans is, with the two ugly sisters, you get two dames for the price of one. And David Mann’s portrayal of Prosecco and Mark Clayton as Chardonnay were the two stand-out performances with the pair having a great rapport between themselves and the audience.
They had the crowd in hysterics, particularly with their dance routine to Beyonce’s All the Single Ladies which received the biggest cheer of the evening. There was also some nicely timed near to the knuckle double entendre as the pair took an already good show to a new comedic level.
Elsewhere on the stage Vanessa Morgan was magnificent as the fairy godmother, Connor Winters as Buttons was a favourite with the younger members of the audience and Graham Forbes and Dave Healing had their fair share of laughs as Wallit and Grimace.
Indeed one of the best laugh-out-loud scenes of the whole production was the one involving them and the transportation of a fragile dinner service.
Laury Wiggins won the hearts of the Cinderella, Tanith was a popular Prince Charming and Emma Hay put in a good portrayal of an scheming Dandini.
Victoria Vollans and Ken Messenger were also great together as the Hardups, particularly during their duet which contained some great slapstick comedy.
And no All and Sundry pantomime would be complete without a breath-taking UV light show. The group has become renowned for it and this year’s routine really wowed the crowd once again.
The only criticism would be that the microphone levels were too low on some of the songs, such as Be My Baby and You Can’t Hurry Love which meant some good vocal performances were not heard properly.
That, however, did not detract from a superb show. Make sure you book your place at Prince Charming’s ball and add a bit more sparkle to your festive season.
The remaining performances are at 7pm every night from now until December 23 (except December 19). There will also be matinees at 2pm on Friday and Saturday, December 22 and 23.
Visit www.artrix.co.uk or call 01527 577330 for tickets or more information.
