Phil Clark’s pantomimes at the Everyman in Cheltenham are becoming a bit of an institution. Over the past eight or nine years he has gathered a nucleus of performers around which he constructs his very traditional shows. This year, as part of a five-year cycle, it is Cinderella.
Phil eschews the idea, often believed to be essential in panto, of having someone off the telly to front the show. Instead he opts for professionals who can be guaranteed to deliver the goods with no reference to EastEnders or I’m a Celebrity.
William Elliott is now firmly established as the kindly, though slightly outrageous dame and for the past four years has teamed up with Tweedy to form a very successful, highly entertaining double act. Completing the quartet of regulars are the multi-talented Wendy Abrahams and musical director Wyn Pearson.
This year’s show is more lavish than usual with brand-new costumes in all manner of shiny silver and gold fabrics from designers Phil R. Daniels and Charles Cusick Smith. Their transformation scene at the end of the first half, revealing the silver coach and horses ready to take Cinders to the ball, worked brilliantly and was quite magical.
New girl Ruth Betteridge was excellent as the put-upon Cinders and sang beautifully. Her dual nemeses, the put-uponers, were not the usual double-dames Ugly Sisters but were in fact two very glamourous and naughty Wicked Sisters. Wendy Abrahams as Romoana and Kerry Whiteside as her nefarious sibbling Covina were almost the best thing in the show. Playing it as a sort of Ab Fab tribute act, their outrageous costumes would have had Vivien Westwood sitting up, taking notes and making a few sketches. Wendy never ceases to amaze with her versatility and goes from strength to strength every time I see her. Other new girls, Tara Dixon as Prince Charming and Frankie Jones as Dandini slapped their thighs as to the manor born. Lynette Clarke soared across the stage in a puff of smoke as the Fairy Godmother.
But of course it is Tweedy and Willie who are the stars of the show, Tweedy as the omnipresent Buttons and Willie as the Baroness – Hardup by name, hard-up by nature. The high-spot of the show was probably the archery, with each in turn being strapped to a giant revolving wheel while the other fired arrows at them.
If it is Willie and Tweedy that provide the building blocks it is undoubtedly Wyn Pearson’s rousing music that provides the cement that binds the whole lot together. His orchestrations are rich and opulent and really create the impression of a “big” show. If you crave a good, old-fashioned Christmas pantomime then Phil Clark’s Cinderella is just that. ★★★★☆ Michael Hasted 28th November 2015
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