Cinderella

Riverfront Theatre, Newport

PANTO season is upon us again and that can mean only one thing - an evening of madcap fun at the Riverfront Theatre, Newport.

This year trainee fairy godmother is tasked with the mission of saving the beautiful Cinderella from her jealous ugly sisters and delivering her to her Prince Charming.

But the road to romance is far from easy in the fantasy world of Newport Bay, where Cinders toils at the Hard Up Hotel with her trouble-making sisters.

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Kicking off with a great rendition of Five’s Get on Up mixed with The Sun Has Got His Hat On, a jive dance routine and plenty of audience interaction, you knew you were in for a great show.

The mayhem and laughs come from the panto’s dame duo Candy and Flossie, aka Richard Elis and Geraint Rhys Edward, who dazzled in drag and seemed to be having a blast in their roles.

Keiron Self as Buttons also worked his comedy moments to perfection, veering off-scrip occasionally with his jokes, sparking spontaneous laughs with the cast and delighting the audience. A 'ballerinas with balloons' routine played out hilariously mainly because Eli’s, Edwards and Self struggled to contain their own giggles and stay on track.

The sweet persona of Laura Meaton suites the role of Cinderella perfectly and she had great chemistry with her Prince, actor Gareth Tempest. The strength of her voice came through in performances such as There’s a Mouse and the ABBA medley.

There is also a great vocal range on show from effervescent fairy godmother Rachel Waring, belting out One Night Only while transforming Cinder's rags into a glittering ball gown, and lighting up the stage with plenty of glitz and a shimmering carriage.

This year the Riverfront's capacity for special effects were exploited - with a fantastic storm scene as it rained on stage. As Cinderella sang, it poured down on stage and Buttons is soaked through while trying to grapple with an unfortunately positioned down pipe.

The audience spontaneously burst out in applause when Cinderella finally put on the glass slipper and everyone sang along to the medley of ABBA songs, culminating in Thank you for the Music.

And no panto would be complete without an audience singalong. A little tip here - learn to say Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch.

Special effects came out once again as the show ended to the sound of Pharrell's Happy and a burst of confetti above the audience.

This fairytale is full of charm, laughs galore and will make your Christmas magical.

On until January 4.

Sarah Wigmore