There is no better way to end the year than with a trip to the theatre to see a pantomime. This years offering from Capital Theatre’s was Cinderella at the Festival Theatre, the temporary home for Capital’s pantomime whilst the King’s is being refurbished. Headlining the pantomime was Allan Stewart, Grant Stott and Jordan Young, the pantomime promises to be “The Fairy Godmother of all Panto’s” – and oh yes it was!
Cinderella kicked off with a flying spectacular entrance from Faerie May, played by panto legend Allan Stewart. Stewart has been in the panto business for over 25 years and is still dazzling audiences with his charm and wittiness. Supported by Buttons, played by the beloved Jordan Young, created a comedy duo and their on stage presence was second to none. The evil stepmother was portrayed by Radio Scotland’s DJ Grant Stott, who was both humorous but equally vindictive in character.
Cinderella had something in it for everyone, with a great mix of humour for both the children and adults. We were in fits of laughter with the jokes, ranging from politics, to topical and local jokes. The story was loosely based on the fairy-tale of Cinderella and focused more on the comedic elements from the principals, however we enjoyed this twist on the story. The ending we felt was a little rushed and ended suddenly, without a traditional “happily ever after” wedding scene.
The set and scenery was both beautiful and elegant depicting the glitz of panto. This pantomime perfectly blended a mix of traditional well designed painted backdrops, and use of digital projection. The set and scenery frequently changed throughout the show and complemented the story well whilst keeping us engaged and entertained.
A panto wouldn’t be a panto without audience participation, which was encouraged frequently throughout the performance. We particularly enjoyed seeing audience members selected and taken onto the stage to join in with the performance. The actors perfectly interacted with the audience and was well ad-libbed, creating some of the best moments of the show.
The special effects were some of the best we’ve seen in a pantomime. We loved the full scale flying carriage animatronic that featured just before the interval, giving lots to speak about during the break. The animatronic carriage perfectly evolved from the on stage carriage featuring real life ponies, which were absolutely adorable! Throughout the show there was brilliant use of pyrotechnics which was played on hilariously by Faerie May.
The music featured a wide range of music genres adapted with local references and jokes. Some of the songs included adaptations of Hot to Go, Apple, Yes sir, I can boogie, All I want for Christmas and Man, I feel like a woman. This excellent song selection was well accompanied by an ensemble of brilliant dancers, even from Dan – if you know you know!
Cinderella is a brilliant family friendly pantomime that we’d highly recommend seeing. It runs at the Festival Theatre until 31st December 2024, a must see.
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