Refreshing take on Cinderalla pure escapism

Cinderella Show - Matt Hatten (Trixibelle), Martin Manea (Tiger Lily)

BEING the premiere, it was a largely adult audience at last night’s launch of Cinderella: A Pantomime, but you wouldn’t have thought it by the racket from the cheap seats.

“Hello Buttons!”, “Look out behind you!”, the audience hollered during the debut of Musical Theatre Gisborne’s latest instalment of Christmas silliness.

But even the enthusiastic adults couldn’t drown out the shouts from the few little girls in the audience who, it must be said, were having the time of their lives.

Yes, it’s pantomime season and MTG has leapt into it, glass slippers and all.

Make no mistake, Cinderella is not a sophisticated theatre experience . . . Brit Dave Buchanan has drawn on every hilarious cliché in adapting the classic fairy tale for the panto stage.

In Buchanan’s version, Cinderella (Amelia Williams) lives at Hardup Hall with her father, Baron Hardup (Fraser Grout), but has a hard time at the hands of stepmother Lady Hardup (Paula Hatten) and stepsisters Tiger Lily (Martin Manea) and Trixibelle (Mathew Hatten).

The latter are determined that Cinderella shall not go to Prince Charming’s (Cheyney Biddlecombe’s) Grand Ball but the Baron and his manservant Buttons (Aaran Dunn) are equally determined she shall. And of course, with the help of Fairy Godmum Foozle (Liz Cutts), she does.

What’s refreshing about this show is that it doesn’t treat kids as though they are dumb. “You know how the story of Cinderella ends, don’t you children?” says sparkly fairy godmother Foozle.

“Yeeeeesssss!!!”

And to pull it all off, director Dave Hall has done some pretty canny casting.

As well has having a fine voice, Williams gives her Cinderella a lot more personality than your usual passive princess; Grout’s henpecked Baron lets loose with a stream of so-bad-they’re-good dad jokes; Paula Hatten is hilarious as the horrible Henrietta Hardup; and Cutts’ solo reveals a lush tone MTG would do well to snaffle up for future shows.

Elsewhere, MTG has found itself a comedic queen in Suzan Anderson (Handy Andy), and then there’s faithful flunky Buttons ( Dunn), charged with driving most of the audience participation, and the kids (and adults) just love him.

But the undisputable stars of the show are teens Mathew Hatten and Manea. Though there’s a distinct boy swagger under all those boobs and bustles (that being the joke), both hit their marks to score most of the laughs.

Hatten, in particular, delivers some poncy English county camp by channelling his inner (Little Britain comedian) Matt Lucas.

Cinderella is a substantial show — well over two hours including the interval — so the weekend matinees are likely to be sought after for younger audience members.

As for the rest of us, amid the pressures of work, play, the end of the school year and Christmas preparations, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better – or sillier – means of escapism.

“Oh yes you would!”