Review: Cinderella, Ipswich Regent
Cinderella at the Ipswich Regent is the perfect accompaniment to your Christmas celebrations. Everyone knows the story of the poor down-trodden girl who desperately wants to go to the ball, the story has been told so many times. The skill in presenting the tale is to still be able to captivate and entertain the audience and this is certainly achieved for the entire performance of this year’s Regent panto.
In the past two years The Regent has seen a return to traditional fun pantomimes how they should be performed, probably due to the teaming with the excellent Enchanted Entertainment company, long may this partnership continue.
This show is packed with great songs that all ages will know and love, great gags and a superb cast who really work hard for the two hour performance.
The cast includes Maureen Nolan as Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother, (aside from her time with her sisters, Nolan has performed in big stage musicals and still has the voice to prove it!), Lee Latchford-Evans (formerly with Steps) is Prince Charming, Gabrielle Green from CBBC’s Wolfblood plays a very lovable Cinderella and demonstrates she is more than a children’s tv entertainer, but has an amazing voice, showcased in her renditions of Let It Go and Love is An Open Door from “Frozen”.
Another children’s tv addition is Nick Wymer as Baron Hardup and his other two daughters, those awful ugly sisters are played by David Phipps-Davis and Miles Western.
We must not forget poor-old Buttons played by Mike McClean. Buttons never gets the girl of his dreams, however this street-wise presentation of the character certainly gives it his best shot. McClean plays quite possibly the best Buttons I’ve ever seen…. (and I’ve seen a lot of productions of Cinderella over the years!).
Without giving too much away there are some excellent variations within the show, lookout for The 12 Days of Christmas…. truly hilarious! The traditional ghost scene gets a twist and there’s also fun with the audience from McClean including both the children and adults alike.
The transformation of Cindrella from pauper to princess is always a tricky one to be able to create that WOW moment but this is done magically.
All ends happy ever after, we always knew it would…. but by the end of the performance you will be In the Mood for Dancing and up on your feet.
Well done to all at The Regent, this is really a magical performance that you should not miss.
• Cinderella at The Ipswich Regent until Tuesday 30th December. Box office: 01473 433100.
Mark Keable, Ipswich24.