"Cinderella" by NUH Pantomime Society.

Squire Performing Arts Centre, Nottingham.

This has to be the best pantomime that I have seen this year! OK I may seem flippant with that remark, but this production is seriously good, especially when you think that everyone performing in this show work inside Nottingham's hospitals. They get together once a year to put on a show in order to raise funds to buy items for the hospitals that standard funding doesn't cover; items that are suggested by specific areas of the NHS which will improve patient experience whilst in the hospital, and they've been doing this for around 30 years. When you hear just how stretched the National Health Service is at this time, these people give up their time to write, produce and put on a show in order to help make patients' lives just that little easier.

Thois is a mix between traditional "Cinderella" and a fresh twist on some of the characters, like Fairy Knapweed, who has to make Cinders and The Prince fall in love before she gets her wings, almost like "It's A Wonderful Life" but with a wonderfully funny Fairy instead of a heavenly guardian. Anyway. you all know the Cinderella story, so I don't neeed to go into the storyline, do I?

It's a large cast, with an even larger "behind the scenes" crew, so let's get on with the praising!

If I refer you back to my first comment, the show is packed with such feel good vibes and energy and has several marvellous characters and performers who really drive the story, humour and audience participation with such gusto that you you can feed off of the energy and fun for a long time after the show has ended.

Cinderella is played by Megan Kearney and she adds a nice modern twist to the character. It's sometimes hard to register that these performers are not regular stage performers and by doing what they do, we also see the talents that they have outside their normal 9 to 5 jobs. That can be said of Megan's voice and we get to hear some lovely vocals from her. From the gorgeous "When I Need You" to the raunchy "Shut Up And Dance With Me", she takes you from one level of emotion to the opposite end with the story behind the song choices.

Prince Charming is played by Evie Alliott and again a really modern feel to this character, while still keeping to the traditional Prince feel and story. A real groover on stage and she has some great songs to groove to as well.

Angie Springhall plays Dandelion, one of the two evil Step Sisters. This is one half of a brilliant double act with Angie's facial expressions really creasing me up. Dandelion's snorting when laughing is another trait that you just can't resist finding funny and her childlike tantrums are another comedy point. 

Dandelion's sister is Burdock, played by Colin Mudd. I remember so well Colin from last year's production he is that memorable, and he is just as memorable in this role. Colin is one of those actors who are vital to any group for driving the show. Straight away he was addressing the audience to boo, ooh and aah and ramping up the audience participation. Colin is a natural comedian and he feeds off the love that he receives from an audience. Hr has described himself as a natural "show off" and that is sometimes what you need in theatreland, but he never goes over the top, well not for me anyway. He is a natural dame in the old style of Dan Leno, especially with his added sauciness and facial recognition of things that he has said, similar to how Sir Ian McKellern plays a dame. Great entertainment and one of several "show drivers" in this production.

Ross Levy is another important show driver who keeps those energy levels sky high in his role of Buttons. This version of Cinderella doesn't have Buttons fawning over Cinders with unrequited love, but instead shows a brother/sister liking for the other, which allows Buttons to be a funnier character. Buttons is all team Cinders where the bullying by Dandelion and Burdock are concerned, but you also see a bit of affection for the step sisters in parts. I think the last time that I saw Ross on stage was last year performing Shakespeare on the Theatre Royal stage, if I remember correctly, in a community staging of "Hamlet" and seeing him here just shows the flexibility of his acting skills.

Teresa McDonnell gets her fair share of boos as the nasty Baroness Hardup. Wonderfully evil as she stands up for her daughters, addressing the audience and putting down her Stepdaughter, Cinderella. I did however hear a wolf whistle though when she came on stage dolled up to the nines in her ballgown, and I will admit, she looked the bees knees! A nod to the wardrobe department there.

Elizabeth Eastham was Dandini, swapping his cloak (and moustache) to allow the Prince to mingle unnoticed among the commonfolk. Loved the fact that Dandini always came up with a cunning plan which was then picked up as a brilliant idea by the Prince, just seconds later, and Dandini's reaction to this.

Fairy Knapweed is not a character that I had seen before, so may have been a novel character written in by the pantomime's author. In order for this punky character to get her full wings, she is assigned the task to make Cinders and The Prince fall in love. Collette Wong gives a brilliantly energetic performance as this rebel looking fairy with attitude.

Claire Pavier, as Fairy Snapdragon, is the fairy who allots the task to Fairy Knapweed and is a great leveller to the fiery fairy's gung ho methods and a lovely leveller as your archetypal panto good fairy. The pair's images also reflect thier temperaments as well, and again, another nod to the wardrobe department for both costumes.

Baron Hardup is played by Martin Orrell. This character starts out under the Baroness's thumb, but a task that he has to perform near the end of the pantomime gives him kudos, especially in the eyes of the bossy Baroness.

There's a running joke throughout the panto regarding mice, and two especially as we are kept hanging on for the two main mice, Bubble and Squeak, played by Lucy Crocombe and Amy Flatman. The mice being Cinderella's friends love to dance, and Buttons keeps putting off their big dance section right until the end of the show almost, where they perform to "A Windmill In Old Amsterdam" - which I have been unable to get out of my head ever since the panto finished!

There's two other duos in the panto, the first being a pair of gardeners, Old Bert, played by Emily Giles, and Young Ernie, played by Victoria Wilkinson-Smith, and then Andie Gooding and Andrea West who play Quicksilver, the pantomime horse. I can imagine that the latter role may have taken a bit of time and rehearsals with the pair to look as natural in motion as they did as a horse; it's all to do with co-ordination I was once told, and this pair certainly had that.

The final main cast role is that of Herald, who was played by Helen Lester.

The chorus of Villagers, Lords and Ladies, Ghosts, Skeletons and Ghoulies are played by Emma Brown, Lucy Crocombe, Amy Flatman, Andie Gooding, Helen Lester, Richeldis Malkin, Sharon Martin, Emma Reid, Maria Rotsidi, Alison Towner, Andrea West and Sophie West. Some of the ghost outfits are the best that I have seen, yet another pat on the back for the wardrobe team.

Directed by Kat Crookes, Barbara Eastham and Hatty Hunt-Blow. This show is very fast moving with scene changes done with fine pace and covered by the band so that there was never a moment when there was not anything to focus on aurally or visually.

Produced by Steve Eastham.

Technical Support was by Jonthan Pykett.

Barbara Eastham wrote the script and I will admit that I don't remember hearing any of the jokes anywhere before, and they were funny as well. A fresh script that blended traditional panto with a new feel and that kept my attention all the way through just waiting for the next humorous line. Additional script material was by Martin Orrell and Elizabeth Eastham.

The choreography for this show was also very good and obviously played to the individual strengths, showing the hard work put in by Choreographers Kat Crookes, Elizabeth Eastham, Emma Reid and Alison Towner. Wonderful ensemble numbers like "It's Raining Men" and "Get the Party Started" completely filled the stage.

The live band sounded great under the musical direction of Rowena Wood (drums) consisted of Christine Cripps (oboe), Anita French (clarinet). Phil Hughes (bass), Michael Johnson (guitar), Sam Uveges (trumpet) and Catherine Williams (piano).

Vocally this troupe were on every number combining the actor's natural vocal abilities with the vocal coaching provided by Teresa McDonnell and Sam Uveges.

I now get to let you know who is responsible for the brilliant costumes for this production. Under the guidance of Wardrobe Mistress, Elizabeth Paling, were Wardrobe Team Suzy Thornton, Emily Giles and Grace Miller. These costumes were such a high point of the show.

Of course, there's a few people who work their butts off that you never see as an audience member, but without the Backstage Crew,  a show like this would not run as smoothly as it does. These unsung heroes are Barbara Eastham, Peter Knowles, Debbie Croves and John Crookes as well as Backstage manager Steve Eastham.

Keeping the flow of audience members happy are the Front of House team, again all volunteers, and they are Sarah Flatman, Alison Rigby, Dylan Steele and the NUH Panto Family. Again, unsung heroes in any drama group that should be acknowledged.

Sound and Light crew, I imagine as there's no mention in the programme, belong to Squire Performing Arts. Absolutely no issues with either.

Normally people associate pantomime with the Christmas period, and I suppose January/February is still, technically, winter, and I have a few more pantomimes to go, but NUH pantomime have set the bar high for quality for pantos for early 2026.

"Cinderella" by the NUH Pantomime Society is at Squire Performing Arts Centre from Tuesday 13 January until Saturday 17 January with a Saturday matinee but check the SPAC website for the start times of the various performances.

 "Northanger Abbey" by Jane Austen.

Your Chance Productions.

Duchess Theatre.

I've never really read much Jane Austen. Like most people I knew "Pride and Prejudice" and "Sense and Sensibility", but "Northanger Abbey", her first novel, is not one that I can recall, and you know I love expanding my theatrical education, and this education blends the Austen humour with a Gothic backdraft.

So for the uneducated, where Jane Austen is concerned, this is what the play is about...

"Northanger Abbey" is the coming-of-age story of a young woman named Catherine Morland. She has grown up in the countryside, the eldest daughter of a parson in a family of ten children, and is obsessed by Gothic novels of the time, something that influences her mindset later within the play.

She has been invited on a holiday to Bath by her neighbours, The Allens, where she encounters the Thorpes and the Tilneys. During balls, she befriends Isabella and fancies Henry. Soon, Isabella gets engaged to James, but starts flirting with Captain Frederick. 

Catherine visits Northanger Abbey, on the invite from Henry and expects a Gothic mansion. Instead, she is received in a lovely house. However, there are mysterious rooms she cannot enter and her imagination starts to run away with her.

Catherine's visit ends when a furious General Tilney rudely sends her home. It turns out that John Thorpe has lied about Catherine's family being dirt-poor. What could possibly happen now? Is this the end of a beautiful friendship? Unless you have read the book or seen the film, there's only one way to find out... go along to the Duchess Theatre and see what unfolds!!

The wonderful thing about the Duchess Theatre is that it's incredibly popular with many different theatre groups and booking in for a run of a play is something that needs doing there many months in advance. That also means that rehearsal time on the stage that you're going to perform on is very limited, and that is something that this production would have benefitted from, more rehearsal time on that stage, and that doesn't just mean for the actors but for the sound and lighting department to make sure that they get everything, if you'll pardon the pun, spot on.

Not knowing the story of "Northanger Abbey", and I didn't want to watch the film or look tto deep into the synopsis of the story, I wanted this production to tell me everything I needed to know about the plot and the characters, and that is where my first niggle was. Halfway back in the auditorium and I had trouble hearing some of the actors. When they turned away from the audience their sound was lost, sometimes when they faced the audience, I couldn't hear what was being said, so I became lost to the characters and part of the storyline. There were mics, five of them set up, three at the front of the stage and two above the stage, but projection was not strong enough from a handful of actors, while others, when projecting didn't need any electrical magnification.

With not having access to the theatre for rehearsals there was also, so it seemed to me, a lack of blocking for lighting purposes and several times the spotlight meant that the actors heads were in darkness while everything from the neck down was illuminated. I did find out that there had only been time for just one technical rehearsal, which will be frustrating for the lighting team, actors and Director. I know though that, with this being opening night, notes will have been made and points will be refreshed all round. I know that because I know the Director and most of the cast and know the work ethic they have when they strive for the standard of work that they always aim for. And I know for a fact that it's only due to the time available over the last couple of months, getting the cast together for rehearsals and the limited stage time available to them that niggly things like the lighting, the vocal projection, the repetition of a couple of the lines and maybe a few missed lines all crept in there. Monday was only day one though and Tuesday and Wednesday are other days to smash this play!

It's not all negativity though because there is a lot of extremely positive points to tell you about....

The costumes are wonderful. There's no credit in the programme but the gowns for the ladies are full of colour and style, and the men's suits were perfectly periodic and brought such class to the proceedings. A lot of work has obviously gone into their creation to look the part.

I loved Alice Goodall's choreography in the ballroom sections, again so of the period. The music was magical, possibly Mozart, all added to the Austen-esque feel of the era.

What I also liked was the narrative of the story and characters by breaking the fourth wall, all the while moving the story along.

The dramaturgy was another thing that I enjoyed, and let's be honest who does not love it when a play gets very dramatic, especially in the second half with General Tilney's speeches!

There were several sections where we are taken into the world of Catherine's Gothic obsessions when the stage was flooded in blood red lighting and masked characters invaded the stage, breaking forth from Catherine's imagination, enough to bring on nightmares! The masks and the set by the way was the work of Philippa Buchanan.

The cast are Samantha Hempsall (Catherine Morland), Darren Taylor (Henry Tilney),  Rachel Augustsson (Isabella Thorpe), Martin Weston (John Thorpe), Alice Goodall (Eleanor Tilney), James Taylor (James Morland), Rachel Bates (Mrs Allen/ Annette), Dan Bates (General Tilney) and Kourtney White (Mrs Thorpe/Mrs Morland). All to be applauded as this kind of play isn't performed very often at all and getting the right feel for the era as well as the physical attributes of the characters is also not an easy ask, or getting the language the way it should sound.

Directed by Jessica Morgan-McLean, this show is a big deal and with all the time restraints put in her way, I honestly think she did a really good job of getting this play seen. I also know, as I said earlier, that there will be some tweaking done overnight to tighten up the production. It's a cracking story and I for one am really pleased that I got to see this story performed on stage, and by Your Chance Productions.

Lighting and sound is by Dave Martin, again I know that the one combined tech and costume rehearsal would have frustrated him like anything getting the sound and light cues just right for opening night, but I did notice a tighter combined technical show in the second half.

I've never liked the title of "critic" because it gives rise to the term "criticise", something that I don't like to do, well maybe with professional/touring productions where the cast have months to get everything right and are paid to get it right. I prefer the title of "reviewer" where the job is to give an honest review of what is seen on stage, so please do not think that I am criticising any area of this production, because I know so many of the actors on local stages and I know the hard work and love that they pour into what they do on stage, and do for the love of theatre. I also have been told by so many local actors that they are very rarely satisfied with their performances, even when an outsider to the stage like myself sees a great performance, and reports on what he sees.

I know that Tuesday's and Wednesday's performances are going to going to be up there where they should be; I know because I know this group, and not something like a shortage of stage rehearsal time is going to stop any of them, on or off the stage, from giving you their best performances.

"Northanger Abbey" is at the Duchess Theatre only until Wednesday 7 January, so you'd better hurry up and get those tickets for this often overlooked Jane Austen classic.