Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *
Cast: Sonia, Philip Olivier, Nikki Graham, Alison Crawfrod, Simon Greening, Stuart Campbell, Brian Dodd, Michael Chapman.
The Epstein Theatre has been up and running for just under a quarter of a season and already it has one of the top rated plays the city has had the pleasure to witness this year performed on its stage and now the acid test of the festive Pantomime, in the form of the much loved Cinderella, has made sure that the new theatre goes into 2013 with its head firmly held high and in fine exceptional spirits.
The age old story of girl gets bullied by ugly sisters, tormented by evil step-mother, has a fairy God-mother taking hits for the home team and a man whose love for her knows no bounds and of course she marries a prince is the stuff of wonderful and anarchic fairy tales. In this production, it doesn’t get much better or much more spectacular.
In an outstanding cast that dished out cheeky one-liners and superb double entendres as if they were becoming extinct, Michael Chapman and Brian Dodd were maniacally masterful as the two Ugly Sisters as they stole the show every time they walked on the stage with every change of jazzy dress. Not to be outdone in any department by Cinderella’s sisters, Philip Olivier revelled in his role as the sweet and gentle Buttons, who seemingly had the stamina of an Olympic gymnast as he tore up and down the stage and sometimes off it in a role that he excelled in perfectly.
As with any pantomime; the women normally take centre stage for their beautiful portrayals of the harshly done by heroine of the piece and in this the oldest and arguably most pantomime of them all, this was so true as Alison Crawford oozed style and sophistication in the title role. With Liverpool singing superstar Sonia playing alongside her as her step-mum, the evil but dazzling Baroness Hardup, the music flowed a first rate party in full swing.
This may be the Epstein Theatre’s first Pantomime; it certainly won’t be its last. Irreverent, witty and exceptionally charming, Cinderella deserves to be the first of a great many seasonal offerings to the Merseyside public.
Ian D. Hall