CINDERELLA. To 21 January.
Edinburgh
CINDERELLA
by Paul Elliot new songs and additional material by Allan Stewart new lyrics by Beth Eden.
King’s Theatre To 21 January 2007.
2, 5-9, 12 – 16, 19 –23, 26 – 30 Dec, 2 – 6 , 9 – 13, 16 – 20 Jan also 24 & 31 Dec at 1pm also Sundays 3, 10, 17, 7, 14, 21 at 1pm & 5pm. Also Mats at 2pm on 2, 6,7,,9, 13 – 16, 20 – 23, 26 – 30 Dec, 2 – 6, 10 – 13, 17 – 20 Jan No Monday performances
Runs 2hr 15 min. One interval
TICKETS: 0131 529 6000.
www.eft.co.uk.
Review: Thelma Good 8 December 2006.
Will delight the child in you.
Cinderella was the pantomime which opened the King’s Theatre in Edinburgh on the 8 December 1906 and one hundred years later it’s the Christmas show again. On opening night the buzz and the Scottish star count were high with Stanley Baxter, most famous living Scottish Dame, sending his greetings along with Queen Elizabeth the first of Scotland and second of England.
This one is produced by the Qdos Entertainment empire, whose Paul Elliot (with additional material by the best legs in the business, Dame Allen Stewart) gives us a script reworked so it feels more like a Scottish Panto, though plenty of UK big store names are mentioned. There are touches of tartan and kilts but it’s the all-Scottish cast gives it the real spin.
Tradition meets laser show at the beginning and the large cast are rapidly introduced with Allan Stewart ‘s Fairy Godmother appearing in stylish costumes, ensuring he’s the dame with most feminine edge. And his Anne Robinson is truly scary.
The cast this year has a very strong and beautifully-voiced romantic couple in home grown John James Aitken’s Prince and, in her first professional engagement, Carlyne Gibbs’ Cinderella. You believe their pure spirits and their attraction which makes the tale work particularly well. As well as Stewart on the comic side is Andy, “I’m not weeeellll” Gray; as ever the pair work well together showing that it’s the way you tell’em that make the joke not the joke’s decade. Some of them might well be as old as the King’s but full-of-fun delivery ensures they hit the laughter button.
As Buttons, Ross Marshall is the butt of many a joke, while Jo Freer and Julie Combe, costumed oh so bright, add their own fun, in their grotesque Trinny and Susannah. Grant Stott in his third year as the baddie reveals that this popular DJ and media personality has fully earned his performing spurs. Sometimes theatres hire well known names cynically to draw in the punter but Stott earns every hiss and boo the right way, by being believably and attractively bad.
It’s a magical show with lots of special effects and will delight the child in you. Happy Birthday, King’s Edinburgh, the home of Scottish Panto for a century. May you stride into your next century fully refitted - the theatre building badly need renewal but its heart beats strongly now.
The Fairy Godmother : Allan Stewart.
Baron Hardup : Andy Gray.
Buttons : Ross Marshall.
Cinderella : Carlyne Gibb.
Trinny : Jo Freer.
Susannah : Julie Coombe.
The Prince : John James Aitken.
Rupert : Grant Stott.
Surprises : Peter Jolly.
Villagers : Philip Andrew, Jill Beveridge, Caroline Brooks, Keith Gilmore, James Goodman, Jacqui Lemmens, Justin, Sparkes, Karen Sproull.
Juveniles : Edinburgh Dance Academy.
Director: Paul Elliot.
Lighting: Chris Wilcox.
Musical Director: Richard Anderson.
Choreography : Paul Robinson.
2006-12-12 23:26:19