Justin Fletcher, better known to his audience as Mr Tumble, has spent 10 years in pantomime at the Hexagon in Reading alongside his Dame, Paul Morse, and they clearly know their audience well and what is expected of them each year. Fletcher writes the script and performs all of the traditional pantomime business with Morse, and their experience and easy-going, relaxed delivery is at the centre of the show. They make it look effortless as Buttons and Nanny Gumdrop help steer Cinderella safely into the arms of her Prince.

This year, the stage is given a bright exciting look with the venue’s first digital set, which adds plenty of colour and animation and enables very fast slick scene changes so the story flow glides from scene. There are some lovely touches such as the moving windmill and fountain, the bursts of hearts, the butterflies in the woods, and the magnificent coach and horses flying off towards the distant palace. It adds the magic that pantomime needs to enthral young audiences.

They also have plenty of talented young performers in the cast to support the leading two and add flourishes of romance and jeopardy to the story. Carl Tracey makes a strong, attractive Prince Charming in wooing Cinderella, Samantha Dorrance, and they work well together. Cassandra Lee adds the fairy dust to the story and together with Dorrance creates a lovely straightforward transformation scene as Cinderella magically gets her ball gown and climbs onto the carriage. Adam Pettigrew is a confident, outgoing and rather posh Dandini.

Ally Cox is the villain of the story as Madame Frost, the stepmother promoting her two daughters Porcelaina (Rachel DeLooze) and Lavinia (Bex Allington) and they too work well together, although they don’t quite have the same impact as two male Ugly Sisters. They do get their comeuppance in the Boudoir scene before Fletcher and Morse dive into their annual slosh scene.

The show includes all of the other standard pantomime business that the audience expect, a pun run on chocolate brands, the ghost bench scene and the ‘12 Days of Christmas’ song but this year, their award-winning balloon ballet is replaced with a cod Morris Men dance, which will remind parents of the Two Ronnies end-of-show songs. They are all presented with consummate ease and professional comic timing in a very controlled way, but perhaps might have benefited from a little more energy and chaotic mayhem. The young audience, nevertheless, adore them and laugh throughout. The song sheet of ‘Music Man’ had them all joining in on the piano, base drum and air guitar but disappointingly, no children were invited to join the stage for a chat.

The music selection is excellent with ‘Let Me Entertain You’, ‘It’s Raining Men’, ‘Just Haven’t Met You Yet’, ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’, and ‘Oh, What a Night’ being well sung and instantly recognisable upbeat tunes that have the audience singing and clapping along. There is a touch of poignancy introduced as Cinderella reflects on losing her father within the last year and is reminded to hold on to all the memories of him.

This is a colourful, professional looking production led, in the end, by Paul Morse’s energetic and bubbly Nanny, and with a very good supporting cast and while the younger children will have come to see Mr Tumble, there is enough on stage to keep everyone happy and send them home having had a lovely time.

**** Four stars

Reviewed by: Nick Wayne

Cinderella plays at the Hexagon Reading until 5 January 2025, with further info here.