CINDERELLA. To 15 January.
Oxford
CINDERELLA
by Tony Bicat
Oxford Playhouse To 15 January 2006
Mon-Sun various dates 10am, 11am, 2pm, 4pm, 6pm, 7pm no performance 1, 9 Jan
Audio-described 14 Jan 2pm & 7pm
BSL Signed 29 Dec 2pm
Runs: 2hr 15min One interval
TICKETS: 01865 305305
www.oxfordplayhouse.com/cinderella
Review: Timothy Ramsden 24 December
An attractive, gentle piece of panto.
This is advertised for 4 year olds and over and probably is. It’s a restrained pantomime (more knockabout from the ugly sisters wouldn’t come amiss and everyone – except perhaps 4 year olds – will be upset the mentioned Broker’s Men never materialise), yet utterly elegant. Its never-world of Charmingland has features recognisable to adults, yet hardly likely to make young children feel excluded; ditchwater-dull Lords who compare traffic routes, ugly sisters abusing dad’s credit card, a racehorse-loving royal who resists abdication in favour of her son, can all be taken in young strides.
As for Karen Paullada’s Cinderella: will we help her? Of course we will. Her sufferings aren’t over-emphasised - all part of the gentle storytelling. But who could refuse such smiling requests for assistance? No wonder Buttons silently worships her – not enough, though, to suggest a breach in the happy ending; his joyous cry he’ll be her friend gives a final high note.
The fickle Bicats have deserted Chipping Norton Theatre, where they wrote the last 2 pantomimes, for the big city. But the friendly, colourful, pastoral Chipping Norton approach has come with them. The script’s rhymed sections speak well, the action never lingers too long and the whole piece is visually beautiful.
Designer Jess Curtis provides a starry surround, coloured by Tim Boyd’s lighting, so that little’s needed to establish different scenes. The ball is particularly attractive, through delicacy rather than magnificence (as should be the case, indeed). And it’s here Nick Bicat’s score is at its finest in its aural elegance and attractively apt melodies.
Rae Baker is a brisk villain, though more in manner than action, Dandini’s hissable status being announced by her appearance – the confident stance, the defiantly sour expression – rather than anything much the character does. For this good-natured show mixes in only the smallest necessary spoonful of malicious intent. Lesley Nicol’s vivacious Fairy Godmother carries the day in curly orange wig and unglamorous workday clothes when it comes to radicalism. Who, she points out, can say Fairy Godmother’s shouldn’t look like this? This is the most graceful of pantomimes, a joy to behold.
Dillicent Hard Up: Harry Peacock
Millicent Hard Up: Gerard Carey
Baron Hard Up: Will Knightley
Cinderella: Karen Paullada
Buttons: David Galloway
Dandini: Rae Baker
Prince Charming: Dominic Marsh
Lord Desperate: Royce Ullah
Lord Dull: Richard Stacey
Queen Charming/Fairy Godmother: Lesley Nicol
Delia: Natasha Lewis
Blue Team: Sonja Glock, Charlie Guy, Hannah Harvey, Sonal Mandalia, Florence Vincent, Christopher Young
Green Team: James Bailey, Eleanor Coote, Francesca Davie, Bridie Sheppard, Jacob Walls, Lydia van der Werff
Red Team: Ross Arthur, Shelley Foster, Sarah Galvin, Eleanor Vickers, Gregory Vickers, Shakur Williams
Gold Team: James Eagle, Amy Webber
Silver Team: Lucy Brassell, Himgiri Patel
Reserve: Alexe Rogers
Director: Ian Talbot
Designer: Jess Curtis
Lighting: Tim Boyd
Sound: John Leonard
Musical Director: Chris Lambert
Choreographer: Sian Williams
2005-12-28 00:08:52