Cinderella first burst onto the pantomime stage in 1804, and now, over two hundred years later, the Lyric Theatre Hammersmith serves up its own zesty offering fit for the twenty-first century.
In writer Vikki Stone’s version of the age-old tale, Cinderella, played by Tilly La Belle Yengo, is a market stall entrepreneur, who earns her rent by making and selling clothes for gerbils, mice and rats. Whilst many productions now transform Buttons into Cinderella’s rodent best friend, here gerbils reign supreme, but don’t necessarily constitute the Comic. Buttons is dispensed with completely and, whilst this resolves the title of any awkwardness regarding his unrequited love, it does leave Cinderella somewhat on her own in a production lacking comedic drive.
Whilst the Comic and Dame usually offer little in terms of narrative, they are fundamental in the provision of anarchy and creating the shared community of Pantoland between stage and stalls by way of a friendly comedic character for audience members to bond with. There are hints of this in Mr Gerbil, but he never gets to participate in comedic business and merely provides the obligatory call-and-response convention, whilst playing a fundamental role in the transformation scene.
Bereft of Buttons and Baron Hardup, it falls on Jodie Jacobs to deliver much of the merriment as the Prince’s advisor, Minty. Part Acorn Antiques’s Miss Berta with a hint of Ann Widdecombe and Anne Robinson, the subtle raise of an eyebrow raises laughter in an eccentric performance that demonstrates Jacobs’s panto prowess.
As Cinderella’s stepsisters Muffy and Gusset, Charlie Cameron and Meghan Treadway are more whiny than wicked, with Emmanuel Akwafo’s sword-forging, glass-blowing Lady Jelly-Bottom commanding the stage and receiving a full character arc thanks to Stone’s innovative and inventive treatment of the show’s second act.
Cinderella is often deemed one of the most challenging pantomimes to write due to the lack of plot in act two. After the ball and shoe-fitting sequence, where else can the narrative go? Susie McKenna at Hackney Empire invented a subplot which saw the Sisters steal the slipper and kick off a new quest, but Stone presents an ending that at first looks like villainy might just win, and provides Lady Jelly-Bottom with her own Mother Goose moment of realisation and repentence.
Contemporary references abound in the Lyric’s festive offering, from RAAC to ULEZ and even David Cameron’s return to politics, but perhaps the strongest echo is that of the Royals as Damien James’s Prince Henry longs to be ordinary and is constantly dealing with stories being leaked to the press.
A love letter to pantomime and politics, this Cinderella also celebrates so much more, from the Lyric Hammersmith’s commitment to sustainability to the spotlighting of other departments across the building. Pantomime is one of the most complex of all artforms, and company stage manager Claire Bryan’s cameos remind everyone of the huge team effort that takes place both on and offstage to make the pantomime magic.
Extra anarchy and going all out at any opportunity of slosh would really help amp up the energy, pace and tomfoolery in director Tonderai Munyevu’s production. Small spurts of slosh, a cod-set collapse, Minty-related wordplay and an absurdist egg cracking sequence barely raise a titter due to the directional pace, but offer great opportunity at being prime panto business.
With not a pumpkin in sight, the Lyric’s 2023 pantomime is full of fresh ideas and demonstrates the venue’s commitment to evolving the genre. A greater sprinkle of silliness would go a long way in making Cinderella really soar.