A Magical Pantomime
Cinderella
Sunderland Empire
Until Sunday 5th January 2020
Last year’s panto at the Empire was when the show
re-discovered its mojo. This year’s fine panto builds upon that success to produce
an even more glamorous and funny delight that is a real Wearside treat. Strong
characters from the hardworking cast appear in a show that sticks to the
narrative. This is a magical pantomime…oh, yes it is!
Initially appearing as the Fairy on the Top of the Tree,
Scarlett Moffatt, is quickly promoted to Fairy Godmother. Her first assignment
is to take care of Cinderella (Gemma Naylor) whose Dad, Baron Hardup (Jimmy
Johnson, who also directs) has returned as a newly married man. The extended
family includes a pair of stepsisters for Cinders. In Ruby (Duncan Burt) and Rorina
(Miss Rory) we possibly have the most glamorous ugly sisters in pantoland. It is
their sharp acerbic wit and viscous repartee which shows their nasty cruel ugly
side. This change is a welcome one from
the usual hackneyed stereotype.
At least Cinderella has her BFF – Buttons, performed by the
energetic Tom Whalley. Along with Miss Rory and Scarlett Moffatt, Tom added a
welcome North Eastern flavour to the Empire show. “He was fab, never laughed so
much” (a friend of ours elsewhere in the theatre). Talking of which – this is a
Sunderland panto. The local references were very local. There’s no need to talk
about the obvious rival city up the road when you’ve got plenty of closer
locations to laugh at.
Of course, we need a love interest and that comes in the
form of Prince Charming (Jon Moses), who along with his valet Dandini (Sam
Ebenezer), decides to have a ball to find the lady he met in the woods. Both
have great singing ability as demonstrated in their individual performance and
their “bromantic” duets. It occurred to me tonight though…why do the Ugly
Sisters always leave their house in one outfit and arrive at the ball in
another – what happens in between to cause a complete change of outfit? We need
to know? Perhaps that’s a panto in itself. But, I digress…
The panto looks great. Fabulous sets and costumes are a big
feature. For example: one scene has a water wheel. Rather than just one that is
painted of a cloth we had a moving water wheel in the set. It is the level of
attention that raises this show above the competition. Cinderella should look special and, having
completed our tour of the professional pantos in the region, this season’s
elegant Cinderella is at the Empire.
This is a great cast, operating under tight direction, with
a terrific script. Scarlett appears in
her first panto and is at home as the fairy. Tom is, by the same token, a panto
veteran. From the apparently improvised moments through to the delicate
handling of the kids during the community singing, Tom kept us all laughing.
The community singing was a song called “I’m a Mackam Man” with the landmarks
of the area, to the tune of “Music Man”, another great move. The show has a
live band, under musical director Stephen Roberts, performing a great
collection of songs. The show has Adam and the Ants’ Prince Charming but
no Baby Shark.
Cinderella is magical. A great end to our pre-Christmas
panto season.
Review by Stephen Oliver
Tickets available
from the Sunderland Empire box office and online from our affiliates ATG
Tickets: https://prf.hn/l/78zDAX6 #Ad
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