Posted: 1/18/09 at 1:35pm
Dragged myself all the way to sunny downtown Southampton yesterday for the final performance of the 'New Pantomime Musical 'Cinderella' at the Mayflower Theatre.
Doesn't that make it sound grand? well its not and they should be taken to court over trades descriptions!
For a production that has been newly designed, scripted etc etc etc, from scratch for this season it looks as tired and as lame as the awful cheap pantos of the 70s.
The company are geriatrics. Aussie ex hunk Craig McLachlan is way to old for principle boy, even more so when his Cinders looks about 16! Pensioner number two is Stephanie Beacham in her first ever panto- I'm sure it will be her last, well, I hope that on the British publics behalf. If she had been any worse the next thing we would have seen would have been the phone stuck to her hand as she called the show in from L.A. I've never seen a fairy with such a limp wand!
Next, this was a show that was built around Christ Biggins, his title of UK panto dame queen, his 'Im A Celebrity.." status were all taken into account as this was developed. First and the most lethal mistake was that he didn't play the dame -thats what 99.9% of those seeing him in panto want! No, he was given Buttons,the poor lost soul who lusts after Cinderella. The next blunder was having Biggins , at 66 years of age lusting after a 16 year old looking principle girl. What with him and Craig McLachlan, it looked like a bus stop of pensioners watching school girls on their way home with a 66 year old fairy waving them on!
'Cinderella' of course has two dames in the guise of the ugly sisters, in this production we are given Mathew Kelly and his son - sorry, but the chemistry of father and son in panto drag simply doesn't work, they just don't gell and the both of them looked incredibly uncomfortable.
God help the city that gets this next year.
I loved my visit to Southampton as the Mayflower is a gorgeous old theatre that is probably one of best kept and best run theatres in the UK.
Updated On: 1/18/09 at 01:35 PM
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