Cinders: The True Story

Reviews

AN INTERESTING and colourful slant on a favourite pantomime greeted audiences in Blackmore last week. The renowned Blackmore Players, presented their annual fun panto to their devoted followers, but this year gave David Tristram's 'Cinders, the True Story' a run.

Following on from the success of Tristram's last play, Last Tango in Blackmore, the project broke some new ground. Being the first full production by director Ian Lodge, 'Cinders' was a
pantomime but not as we know it, or so it seemed.
Never short of enthusiastic actors, the group drew in some new faces and made full use of them.

Sharon Free came in to take the role of Prince Dandini which she played with remarkable confidence. Making more of the role than I suspect the author intended, and  put an element of 'Royal with attitude' into the play which worked extremely well. While still slapping thighs at every opportunity, she left no one in any doubt that she, or he, was royalty with a capital 'P' for pushy.

The object of her desire was the lovely Cinders, a role Sandra Trott has made her own. In fact being one of the younger members of the group, Sandra fits well into these, having just finished playing Hero, Shakespeare's heroine in Much Ado About Nothing. Weeping and finishing up living happily ever after seems to be Sandra's role in life and she again carried it off, or in this case got carried off by her charming prince.

An interesting mix by the director brought the traditional ugly sisters into another gear.
Panto favourite Keith Goody used his long tall frame to good effect by adding another couple of feet with a selection of wigs, coming close to clashing with the ceiling lighting on a couple of occasions. Along with the wigs, Keith's amazing collection of expressions to fit every occasion, at times made dialogue superfluous.
As everyone knows, there are two ugly sisters, but the second was actually a woman, Barbara Harrold. Men playing women and vice versa is one of those pantomime things you have to try and explain to the children, but interestingly, Barbara not only brought the fun female element to the role, but made some of the clever dialogue sound very real.

Martin Herford took on the role of Buttons with the type of suit that defies being unnoticed, and again had some clever dialogue not normally attributed to the character. It gave the traditional knock-about Norman Wisdom impression a jolt of reality.

Another twist, and a word I use advisably, was the introduction of the Hairy God Mother. Played by Phil Davis with all the aplomb of a builder's mate leading the Royal Ballet production of 'My Old Man's a Dustman.' As you can probably imagine, there is no Nicey-nicey from this fairy and Phil certainly did bring another facet to goody two shoes in tights and tutu.
His real time wife Irene, donned trousers and became the Prince's right hand man Dandini, and adapted so well to the role as she always seems to do. It is the little touches Irene brings to her characters that make the difference.

Mike Jeffereyes and Gina Daldry played Baron Hardup and his Wagnerian misses making the timid baron and Brunhilda baroness a noisy pair getting the laughs.
There were plenty of fun elements in this production, but the one that seemed to score most was a pantomime cow beautifully crafted by Laura Simkins and Sarah Tayler. And though there is no cow in Cinderella, the girls certainly made the interloper popular.

It was another well put together production for the players, who never seem to let the grass grow under their feet. No sooner are they dismantling the scenery on one show, the plans are being set for the next for their annual three shows a year.
The next will be Peter Gordon's comic farce, Murdered to Death, at the Village Hall, in May.

, Barking & Dagenham Post