"He's laughing – but he's no' happy ..." It's a favourite Allan Stewart line that usually surfaces during his shenanigans as this venue's long-joshing resident Dame.
He might easily have applied it to Ofpants, the official panto watchdog. Because even though Ofpants did laugh – at Stewart, at Andy Gray (as the Dame's faithful old retainer, Buttons) but especially at Grant Stott (below), dragged-up as the big bad burd Gobina McPhlegm – overall he wasn't happy with this re-worked Cinderella.
Maybe audiences know the story well enough not to care if the plot puts its feet up in the wings and lets the Fairy provide narrative catch-ups – after all, she's not wandering the wood as an old hag in search of sticks, or waving a wand at pumpkins. Even with so little to do, the side-lined plot generously says "after you ..." to the comedy sketches and musical numbers before making a quick sprint to the slipper-fitting bit where Cinderella gets her Prince and scheming Gobina gets – actually, gets a man too.
Dandini (David Haydn) had, like the entire audience, fallen for Stott's magnificently towering, flouncing diva with the mega-beehive, basso-profundo voice and casual acts of cruelty to all and sundry, including twin sister Hocktoo (the small-scale Ross Marshall, in matching costumes, providing a visual gag too far).
Ofpants had early reservations about the Prince (Paul Luebke) after he flashed his six pack to a meltdown of screams, but when he and Cinderella (Joanne Thomson) proved a class act in the love duets, the watchdog awarded plus points.
Spectacular? Yes, if somewhat taste-free. Crowd-pleasing? Indeed. Ofpants was happy for them all, but by then even he wasn't smiling.
HHH
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