I haven’t been a regular panto-goer since being scarred by some truly awful amateurish productions as a child.
Only the fact I have two young daughters persuaded me to give the traditional festive fun and games another try.
I now realise what I’ve been missing for the past 30 years after a brilliant performance of the classic fairytale Cinderella at The Hawth.
The show has the perfect mix of humour, glitzy costumes, audience participation and music to hit the spot for those aged four to 84.
That is not easy to pull off but ITV’s Stephen Mulhern got the balance just right with his cheeky portrayal of Buttons, while Sid Sloane, of CBeebies fame, was a slick Dandini.
Most of the jokes went over my girls’ heads but they had me chuckling away, especially the superb ugly sisters played by Ian Smith and Michael Batchelor, whose wardrobe is simply eye-popping.
Prince Charming (Stephen John Davis) provided some West End class while Cinderella (Catherine Hayworth) wasn’t far behind.
It all looked great, too, with the pièce de résistance being a life-size flying coach and horse which left my four-year-old daughter open-mouthed in wonder.
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