Review: CINDERELLA, Wolverhampton Grand Theatre
Photo credit: Tim Thursfield
Pantomime season is well and truly underway and it’s a wonderful feeling after the distinct lack of this wonderful festive pastime during Covid times.
Cinderella at the Wolverhampton Grand Theatre is the epitome of a family friendly, fun night out. From the second the curtain goes up, you are greeted with colourful, sparkly and festive scenery, with rather impressive LED screens that change throughout the show. We are greeted by the Fairy Godmother played by Denise Pearson of ‘Fivestar’ fame. She delivers a polished performance and has many fantastic musical numbers showing off her vocal talent.
From the moment we meet Buttons, played by Tam Ryan, it’s clear that the show is going to be full of laughs, quick one liners and the always toe curling audience interaction. Buttons is very much the star of the show and for his performance alone, you must pay the Grand a visit!
We also meet the Pantomime Dame, in this case Dame Penny Pocket played by the ever-professional Ian Adams, who is a favourite with Wolverhampton audiences. The costumes are outrageous, as they should be, and the comedic timing is on point.
Cinderella, played by Evie Pickerell, is perfect for the role. She has an outstanding voice and gives a really lovely performance. It would have been great to hear more from her given how fantastic her voice is. The kids in the audience really warm to the character and love the fact that it all works out in the end. There is a real warmth in Pickerell’s portrayal of Cinderella, which is perfect for this show.
We then meet Prince Charming and his ever-faithful aide Dandini played by the Pritchard brothers, AJ & Curtis respectively. Both professional dancers in their own right, they play to their strengths extremely well and it is great to see some of that Strictly magic throughout the show. Curtis wows with his vocal performances. He first sings the Michael Buble classic ‘Haven’t Met You Yet’ and then opens the second act with a fantastic upbeat song from Copacabana, ‘Dancin’ Fool’, which he carries off superbly. With panto, we always expect something to go wrong and Curtis forgetting his lines makes for a hilarious stop in the show. He handled it very well and the audience certainly loved it!
Baroness Hardup, played by Julie Stark and her two daughters, Tess & Claudia (I did mention there was some Strictly magic!) played by Ella Biddlecombe and Britt Lenting respectively, play their roles wonderfully. Being the “baddies”, the audience greet them with plenty of boo’s and the sound of kids getting totally immersed in their characters is a fabulous sound.
We don’t really need to tell you the story of Cinderella, however needless to say, it all ends happily, and the show is a joy from start to finish. There are plenty of modern songs to sing along too and the absolute highlight has to be the ‘12 Days of Christmas’ performed by Buttons (Tam Ryan), Dandini (Curtis Pritchard) and Dame Penny Pockets (Ian Adams). This fun packed, high energy version of this Christmas classic contains lots of props, many of which are thrown all around the stage and even into the orchestra pit, together with Dandini getting a cream pie in the face a few times. This is finished off by the usual water pistols being emptied out over the audience, an absolute panto must!
This wonderful pantomime runs at the Wolverhampton Grand Theatre until 9 January 2022 so if you get chance, please pay it a visit for an evening of the most wonderful festive family fun!
***** Five stars
Reviewed by: Emma Rowley
To book tickets for Cinderella, please click here.