Cinderella: Mop! In the Name of Love

Liverpool Playhouse
Written by Sarah A Nixon & Mark Chatterton
Directed by Mark Chatterton
3rd December 2011 - 21st January 2012

Reviewed byColin Serjent
Photograph by Robert Day

I was originally going to write a Marxist critique about the rags to riches story of Cinderella but thought better of it!

Despite the annual rock 'n' roll panto being switched to the Playhouse from its customary Everyman venue, it still delivered a very funny and at times bizzare spectacle.

Cinderella has never been produced in this way, that is for sure, with all the usual trademarks of the fairy story being successfully jettisoned, with some of the dialogue being risque in the extreme.

Although young children were in attendance a lot of the plot - well the in the way it is contrived here - and music would perhaps go over their heads, with the very colourful and at times outlandish costumes - for example ugly sister Wilhelmina Macbeeth (Francis Tucker) wore a dress at one point covered in liquorice all-sorts - perhaps being the most appealling aspect for them.

The larger stage at the Playhouse enabled the production team the licence to use more stage settings than in previous rock 'n' roll pantos, together with extensive use of special effects.

What was customary was the use of a pop band at the back of the stage, with members of the cast all taking part at various times during the show, which ran for nearly two and a half hours. Good value indeed.

Take a night off from dreary Christmas telly fare and go to the ball!

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