Review: CINDERELLA, King's Theatre, Glasgow

After a year of no pantomimes, the annual panto is back at the King's Theatre in Glasgow- much to the obvious delight of the cast and audience. This year's offering is Cinderella with Elaine C Smith as the fairy godmother and Johnny Mac as Buttons.

While the pantomime very much relies on the comedy actors and the fairytale storyline comes second, the King's have cast strong performers in all roles. Tinashe Warikandwa is the sweet (but not sickly so) Cinderella and Christopher Jordan-Marshall plays a genuinely charismatic Prince Charming. The characters are more three dimensional than in other pantos I've seen and the show is far stronger for it. Rather than casting traditional dames for the Ugly Sisters, they have Angela Darcy as Clatty Patty and Joanne McGuinness as Hairy Mary who make for excellent villains.

A new addition to the Glasgow King's this year is the wonderful Darren Brownlie who has been delighting audiences at the Tron Theatre pantomime for years. Playing Dandini, Brownlie slots in perfectly alongside King's favourites Elaine C Smith and Johnny Mac. The trio are utterly hilarious and gel so well together with perfect comedic timing.

Cinderella is a spectacle throughout as is typical of a Crossroads pantomime. The Act One finale is seriously impressive and the sets and costumes are stunning. There are a couple of scenes that feel like a fever dream and even the cast refer to not knowing why there are tap-dancing polar bears in Cinderella but for some reason, it works.

The production values are high but it is the cast that bring the true magic to this utterly joyous panto.

Cinderella runs at the King's Theatre, Glasgow until Sunday 2 January 2022.

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