"Cinderella"

Nottingham Theatre Royal.

My first panto visit of the year, and what a way to open panto season. This year's panto is so much better than last year's "cut and paste" panto, but was not without its' issues.

One thing about panto is that everyone knows the basic story of any particular panto, whether it be "Cinderella" or any other pantomime, so I don't have to go through the story of what happens to poor Cinders, how wicked her Stepsisters are, as is their evil Stepmother, and how much Buttons is lusting after Cinders, and that the Fairy Godmother is on hand to make sure that all goes well and gets to marry her Prince. Oh wait! I've just given away the whole plot there!

Strictly superstar, Craig Revel-Horwood heads the cast as the Wicked Stepmother, Baroness Demonica Hardup, and no stranger to heels, frocks and glamorous make up. Although I have had great pleasure in reviewing the FAB-U-LOUS Craig in musicals like "Annie", this is the first time that I have seen him in panto. Craig lights up the stage from his arrival to the "Strictly" theme tune in a stretch limo. 

There's a dance off section between Baroness and Buttons, many nods to "Strictly", including the names of the Baroness's daughters. Suitably nasty with that ever visible twinkle in his eye and wide grin, Craig may have surprised quite a few people with his singing abilities, but these would have been the people who didn't buy Craig's recent album, "Revelations: Songs That Boys Don't Sing". Craig doesn't show off his dancing ability as much as I had expected to, but that is quite refreshing to tell the truth as he plays down his "day job" with great subtlety; that's not to say that the choreography for Craig is not exciting to see on a panto stage.

Everyone who has seen "Strictly" knows that he has a dry sense of humour, which is part of his charm, and the wit here is crisp. Even with the parts that "go wrong", and there are a few - but how much is rehearsed and how much is actually a natural slip up; you judge because those parts are either well orchestrated or well ad libbed.

Unlike last year's "star" of the panto, Craig is a natural star and holds the stage, and audience, in the palm of his hands. But let's not forget, the FAB-U-LOUS Mr Revel-Horwood has his roots in musical theatre, and that shows in this role.

Neil Hurst returns to the Theatre Royal stage as Buttons. the mix of jokes is well balanced with some that have been used many times alongside quite a few new ones. I am not sure if the section where he gets three youngsters on stage part is a new piece of writing, I certainly had not heard the "Smart Fellers" speech before, and is one of those lovely bits that is funny to the four year old on stage as it is to the adults in the audience.

Neil has funny bones, but his experience on TV and stage has honed those comedy skills perfectly, and with his quick "off the cuff" remarks and retorts, he is just what a family panto needs as Buttons. There's also a slice of panto magic with Neil and a teddy bear!

Christina Bianco, who we last saw at the Theatre Royal as the Narrator in "Joseph and The Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat" back in January 2025, sprinkles her magic in Nottingham as the Fairy Godmother. This time around we get to hear more than just her wonderful powerhouse vocals, we also get to hear those incredible impressions that Christina is renowned for, plus her tremendous comedy talents. Her voice give you chills, and the lovely thing about Christina's mimic skills is that you don't need to be told who she is doing. Everyone from Adele, Julie Andrews, Britney Spears, Shakira and Shirley Bassey to Olivia Coleman are included.

Prince Charming, and may I say completely aptly cast, is played by Stephenson Ardern-Sodje, who has recently just finished a stint in the West End in "The Lion King", after playing in the original London cast of "Hamilton". Another voice that is very easy to listen to, and from listening to some of the ladies near to me, matches the easiness on the eye.

Daniel Norford, who has quite a large theatrical CV, is Dandini. Well paired with Stephenson and the chemistry is completely believable; they could be a couple of lads from the pub with their banter. Daniel also gets to showcase some pretty nifty dance moves throughout.

Cinderella is played by Elly Jay, who stepped into the role late on in rehearsals, but what a gorgeous voice she has. That twinkle in her eye every time that she catches sight of her Prince made for another believable piece of acting.

The two Wicked Sisters - looks like the PC Police have managed to eradicate the word "ugly" for fear of insulting people who are not as gorgeous as others - are played by Britt Lenting, no stranger to the stage or pantomime, and plays Claudia Hardup, and May Tether who plays Tess Hardup. Both ladies have extremely strong voices, in fact quite operatic at times.

There's a section where the main characters perform the standard panto fare where they sing about what they would be if there were unable to live at Hardup Hall. The timing in this section is comedy gold, and this has to be one of the best performances of this bit that I've seen on stage in panto.

The ensemble provide back up energy dance routines, and show that they can move as well as any of the Strictly professionals. Ruby Olivia Bennett, Harrison Creech, AJ Cufflin, Oliver Ferro, Rayne Hunter-Smith, Kasey Robinson, Nikki Seymour and Matthew Sweet sashay and swing all over the stage, and hardly seem to break into a sweat.

Directed by Jonathan Kiley, this is what you call a family pantomime with scenes that flow into each other while keeping the thread of the storyline. While feeling fresh it also retains that traditional panto feel.

Musical Director is Gavin Whitworth, and to say that there's only a six piece orchestra, they sounded so much bigger. What I enjoyed about this particular panto is that the songs were not all well known and there were several of them that may have been written especially for the panto, as well as parodies of "Don't Stop Me Now", "I Will Survive" and "My Way" among them, and the brilliant "Apt" that was such a big hit last year by Rose and Bruno Mars - still one of the catchiest songs going. That said, there didn't seem to be any recent songs involved, and that could be a reflection of the state of today's modern songs!

The costumes are, as only to be expected, A-MAY-ZING, especially those for Craig, Britt and May, but also creating that dapper image for Stephenson and Daniel. Lesley Brown is Head Of wardrobe and Helen Guy-Clark is Wardrobe Deputy.

Sound for me is the only dip in the quality of this year's pantomime, and I thought that it may have been my position in the stalls, but when talking to other reviewers in the interval, I found out that the sound was universally not as good as it could have been.

Many of the songs were parody songs, and to get the full comic effect of a parody, you have to be able to hear all of the words. The sound was crystal clear, but the mix was not right. The music was lovely and loud, and I don't mind it loud, but not when the vocal mix is lower in the mix than it needs to be. The vocals quite often were swamped by the orchestra, and even though in the second half it did sound like some kind of tweaking may have been done, it didn't quite get the mix as good as it could have been. Production Sound Engineer was Jem Kitchen and Jonas Luzys and Matas Muldaris are on Sound.

Lighting Programming is by Rohan McDermott and is everything that you could want from a big pantomime such as this. You have to have a big, bright lighting design to match the Baroness's big, beaming smile. Wonderfully colourful.

An A-MAY-ZING cast who work to their individual strengths to present a wonderfully entertaining and comical pantomime, mixing classic panto fare with fresh and funny sections. A panto that is worthy of seeing more than once over this Christmas period.

"Cinderella" runs until Sunday 4 January 2026 at the Theatre Royal, Nottingham.