It's Showtime!!! - Theatre Review - Cinderella.

Hi!!!

Today is Blogmas Day Twenty One! Sorry today's post is quite late - I had to venture out and do some last minute Christmas shopping and it took longer than expected. Anyway, I have a theatre review for you to read today - I haven't written a theatre review in ages and I thought it would be a really fun one to write. Last night I went to see Cinderella, the Birmingham Hippodrome's pantomime for this festive season. Here are my thoughts.

I love pantomimes. It's a tradition in our family to go every year - our group seems to get a bit bigger every year - and it's always a lot of fun and I cherish the chance to make such special memories with my loved ones each year.

The thing I love most about pantomimes is quite simply how much fun they are. Packed with audience participation, lots of jokes, much loved characters from fairytales and singing and dancing, pantomimes are a chance for us as an audience to really enjoy ourselves. There are silly things and romantic stories and there's always a lot going on. I always think that pantomimes are sort of like visiting an alternate universe. You go to a fairytale kingdom, you take some of your favourite people with you, and the world outside the theatre seems like another planet.

I like to think that I'm somewhat of an authority on pantomimes, having been fortunate enough to see quite a lot of them - I've seen various stories, casts and venues over the years. Put simply, I know a good pantomime when I see one.

I thought the Birmingham Hippodrome's production of Cinderella was fantastic. The costume designs this year were amazing, especially the outfits of the Ugly Stepsisters and of course Cinderella's ball gown. The performances were great. Beverly Knight was brilliant as the Fairy Godmother - she has such a fantastic voice! Matt Slack played Buttons - you'll be familiar with him if you've been to a pantomime at the Hippodrome within the last five years. He's become a signature of Birmingham Pantomime and I must say that I am always impressed with his knack for comedic timing, his facial expressions and what he brings to a performance and this year was no different. The Crumbleweeds - a classic comedy double act - brought even more laughs to the pantomime, making excellent use of physical, slapstick humour. They have that universally funny quality, making grown-ups, kids and grandma's laugh with ease. Ceri Dupree and David Dale made utterly fabulous as the Ugly Stepsisters, with great comedic timing, facial expressions and performances that paid attention to every mannerism their characters might have. Danny Mac brings his dance knowledge from his days on Strictly Come Dancing to the role - he really is a good dancer. The quality of the choreography, not just for Mac but for the Ensemble, really impressed me this year. A range of dance styles - including Latin and Tap - are featured and they were executed well. Suzanne Shaw was very good as Cinderella - and I must say I fangirled a little when I found out she was Cinderella because I was a big Hear'Say fan back in the day (Pure and Simple is still my favourite).

There are some dazzling moments where set design and 'special effects' meet - I won't tell you too much about it, in case you go to see the show but I will say that the Fairy Godmother is usually in charge when they do...

It's an all singing, all dancing, very pink and sparkly show and at the end the audience get the chance to show off their questionable best dance moves under a silver and pink glitterball while Beverly Knight sings, which, I must say, was a lot of fun.

I'd recommend going to see any pantomime but I would highly, highly recommend going to see Cinderella at the Birmingham Hippodrome this festive season - it's on until the 28th of January.

Find more information and tickets here.

Thanks for reading.

Have you been to see a pantomime yet this year? Do you have any other comments or suggestions for future posts? Leave a comment to let me know.

Speak tomorrow.

Have a fabulous day!

GingerSnaps xxx