Reviewed by Paul Davies
November 2013
Be in no doubt: I am a fan of panto. They include some of my most memorable theatre experiences, I’m sure this will be the same for the cast of TTP’s thirty-seventh annual pantomime.
Tina Cini has directed a cast of varied abilities who when they are playing to their strengths are very entertaining. The difficulty with pantomime can be that it can expose your weaknesses, you have to act and perform, you have to know the rules so that you can break them, and you have to have absolute confidence, even if you’re faking it!
A large cast give room here only to mention the stand-outs. Hayley Mitchell’s fairy is gentle, likeable and strong: perfect. Taylah Cini as the Learner Fairy was delightful, and the part my five-year-old daughter most identified with. Damon Hill and Gabe Steinhauer as the Ugly Sisters were so obviously having a great time Their interactions with the audience worked well. I only think they could have been nastier to one-another. Amber Platten’s Cinderella was perfectly lovely. –The microphone was not needed for the songs in this space, and the big-screen was a bit of a distraction. Platten did not need the support. Similarly the sing-a-long!
The set was brilliant. I wanted to applaud the forest! The script worked well, and rhyming couplets for the fairy must have been difficult to write, a little more updating would have helped.
The most important thing of course is did the kids enjoy it? The answer with mine is an unequivical “Yes” . We’ll be back next year for thirty-eight!
