Cinderella at the Wyvern was the first pantomime my wife and I had taken our daughter to. Having not read the book nor watched the film in a while, we were curious if the ending had changed.
SPOLIER ALERT! It hasn’t changed one bit; Buttons, Fairy Godmother, Prince Charming, ugly sisters all in place. Clock strikes midnight, carriage turns to pumpkin, Cinders does a runner, glass slipper fits, etc. etc. However, what the book and films don’t have; jokes about Brexit, jokes about Swindon, modern songs (enter Justin Timberlake and Sia!) and of course, major audience participation.
One piece of advice; try not to sit in the third row, about 5 seats right of centre; this was where the unfortunate ‘Ian’ sat. He, like myself, was enjoying his night with his wife and young child, when the ugly sisters picked on him at random and continued to for the rest of the show! Even Buttons destroyed poor Ian. I imagine he cried himself to sleep that night…
Ryan Thomas was the only celebrity on show and was a decent enough Prince Charming (I couldn’t get the time off work). Major credit to Victoria Farley (Cinderella) and Dickie Wood (Buttons) who despite not being the main draw, definitely stole the show in terms of performance in my opinion! The Ugly Sisters seemed able to get some really loud boos and jeers from our 3 year old! She kept telling me how she hated them, so they MUST have been good!
The jokes were silly, often cheesy, the songs were current and well sung and the acting was decent. Panto is a British Christmas tradition that I hope never changes. This Cinderella performance in particular, left us feeling festive and well entertained.
Thanks to Adam Boobyer and family for the review
