Strictly Come Dancing fans are spoilt for choice this Christmas with Craig Revel Horwood in Southampton’s pantomime, Shirley Ballas at the Tunbridge Wells’ pantomime and Anton Du Beke at Richmond. It has been a very good few months for Du Beke as he settled so well into the role of Strictly Judge and now makes his Pantomime debut as Buttons in Cinderella. Inevitably the production focuses on telling the familiar story through dance and I doubt whether you will see a finer, prettier, or more charming version of Cinderella this Christmas anywhere in the country.
His natural easy charm, twinkling eyes and smooth elegant moves easily win over the audience and when he stumbles on the occasional line it just adds to his appeal. He performs with effortless gentle ease so that even his careful slow exits generate delightful Ah’s and Oh’s from an admiring audience. When he engages with traditional pantomime business his natural style brings a freshness to the routines. As a result, the Alexa music clips routine which has become a staple of pantomime in recent years is beautifully executed with each clip given an elegant dance move as the Ugly Sisters feed him the cues. Then Buttons cheering up Cinders routine is also freshened up as it becomes a dance routine around “You to me are everything”. Of course, at the Ball Du Beke, gets to put on his top hat and tails for some fancy footwork.
There is no comic in the show, but the Ugly Sisters rise to the challenge of bringing the comic elements to the show. Bobby Delaney is the tall leggy Eugenie with Darren Bennett as the shorter Beatrice in a series of magnificent costumes including dressing as a bee and a ladybird. They of course claim to be drop-dead gorgeous and once they tone down the more vicious and aggressive tones from early on, they settle into the roles and make excellent dames. Their “Bad Girls” routine in the Enchanted Forest is great fun and when it comes to the classic slipper trying on scene, they freshen it up by playing the scene to the song “I will survive”. They could have made more of the man picked on in the audience.Alan McHugh’s script has the Fairy Godmother played by Rosemary Ashe teaming up with Buttons and acting as a narrator for the story as well as filling her traditional role. She also gets a newer routine with Dandini, himself bursting with personality as played by Jonny Weston, explaining the route to deliver the invitations and then in a sketch trying to magically give Du Beke a sexier voice. However, she is at her best when she joins the Uglies and Anton in this season’s replacement for the song sheet, the “12 days of Christmas”, which is freshened up from rather tired versions elsewhere as she shows what a great sport she is crawling under the front cloth.
Oonagh Cox makes a delightfully modern Cinderella, moving and singing well from the first in a bright and breezy song “Here in Richmond” with the ensemble of six dancers and in her songs with Prince Charming (Edward Chitticks). When the transformation scene takes place, she shows off her dance moves in a tap routine with six pumpkin characters that is charmingly done.The whole show looks very pretty and colourful, is beautifully lit (including projected the floor slabs in the kitchen a la Strictly on TV) and the coach was pulled by two beautiful small white ponies, which always warm the heart. Stewart Nicholls as Director, Alan Burkett as choreographer and lighting Designer Richard Jones give the production a polished and elegant feel that is a perfect show for the wonderful Richmond Theatre. A real Christmas treat.
Review by Nick Wayne
Rating: ★★★★★
Seat: Circle, Row A | Price of ticket: £42.50
