The Stage
Fantastic review from Thom Dibdin (The Stage) for Cinderella – check it out:
Cinderella
Published Monday 12 December 2011 at 15:28 by Thom Dibdin
Ed Robson’s tale within a tale version of Cinderella for the Cumbernauld Theatre finds its own magic - entrancing its audience with a slowly measured start before whisking them off to its land of magic and illusion.
Making a virtue of a small cast, this starts at the end of the fairy tale as Rachel Gibson’s sparkling Cinderella tries on her wedding gown. When Irene Allan’s hugely hissable Mandragorah magics her stepdaughter away to an enchanted forest the race is on for Cinderella to return in time for her big day.
Once in the enchanted forest, Peter Callaghan’s teetering, forgetful magician Zeb, Kevin Quinn’s lively magician’s apprentice Turf, and Allan’s motherly Alma (keeper of the 57 varieties), try to find Cinderella’s tale in Zeb’s magic book of stories. With Fraser Boyle’s cynical woodman Magnus - secretly in Mandragorah’s thrall - the five re-enact Cinderella’s story.
This is demanding on the cast, but with clear direction and strong performances they succeed in keeping the story clear and the characters distinct while ensuring that the audience is still captivated.
Pantomime comedy comes from Boyle and Quinn as ugly stepsisters Helga and Olga with a spot of audience participation for the final spell to defeat Mandragorah. An inventive, magical show.
Full review
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Evening Times - 20th December
REVIEWED BY: Adam Smith, 8, his pal Craig Differ, 8, and Adam’s mum Helen, from Bonnybridge.
WHAT’S IT ABOUT? Classic Cinderella with a twist. Cinders is transported to the magic forest by her wicked stepmum, where she meets a magician, his apprentice, woodsman and a kindly woodswoman. The magician has a book with all the fairy stories but Cinder’s doesn’t have an ending, so they have to create one.
KIDS’ VERDICT: Adam and Craig were engrossed in the story and fell about with helpless laughter at the two actors pretending to be the ugly sisters
FUNNIEST BIT: Ugly sisters mincing and screeching and trying on the impossibly small shoe.
SCARIEST BIT: The wicked stepmother. As soon as she appeared the boos and hisses started – at times drowning out her voice.
BEST BIT: The wicked stepmother’s lapsing into Scarlett’s (from River City) accent. It was pure dead brilliant.
MARKS: 9.5 OUT OF 10
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The Herald
Cinderella, Cumbernauld Theatre
Mary Brennan, Wed 21st December
MOST versions of the Cinderella story encourage us to believe that the happy ending goes according to plan.
The wicked stepmother throws in the towel, accepts defeat – and either packs her bags or, out of sight of young audiences, undergoes Grimm punishments in the wings. But Ed Robson's version, first seen at Cumbernauld in 2006, twists that tale in a cleverly scary fashion that sees poor Cinders victimised by her wicked step-mother yet again.
It all begins on the eve of Cinderella's wedding. She's dreamily waltzing around with her frothy frock in her arms when the malevolent Mandragorah smarms in, her sudden goodwill taken at face value by the bride-to-be. It's a trick of course. Mandragorah casts a spell: Cinderella awakens in a strange, enchanted forest, her memory totally gone.
Can anyone help? A bumbling old magician and his green apprentice are keen to try, so – with the help of two more forest-folk, a handy hamper full of appropriate props and costumes – they re-enact what they know of her past.
Does the sight of two men done up as her vulgar step-sisters jog any memories? A little. Meanwhile their mincing, primping and squabbling over glitzy shoes makes the audience laugh, a lot. But will she remember everything in time to get to her wedding?
The nicely-gauged switching to and fro between silly comedy and convincing menace keeps everyone hooked, even if some of the performances are a bit over-egged and shouty. But the story-telling is always clear, the audience's participation is positively encouraged – ensuring Cinders gets her happy ending after all.
***
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