Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella

She's been the belle of the ball for so many years, the archetypal underdog through innumerable versions of her story...Can Cinders still manage to entertain us after all this time? You bet she can.

As the title character, Kate Hodges (nee Dempsey) delivers another in her string of radiant and riveting musical roles. She is as capable of communicating and connecting with an audience by way of her smile as she is by breaking into song. Last minute replacement Theresa Dolman is, under any circumstances, electrically entertaining as the wicked step-mother, superbly filling all the requirements of her role without ever hamming it up.

Laura Langman and Jessica Beatie make a terrific pair of step-sisters, one vibrantly comic, the other superbly droll. The "rubbish and drivel" gag at their expense is a highlight! Tom Drentham is, once again, an engagingly quirky presence on stage, bringing a nice sense of dimension to the role of Lionel. True love Prince Christopher is given an appealingly modest charm by Dominic Hodges; occasional unsteady vocals actually work to make the character seem all the more endearingly human.

The prince's parents, Queen Constantina and King Maximillian, are well sung and nicely played by Sandy Wandel and Graham Loveday, but are also written as rather colourless characters, which results in a noticeable disparity of energy levels between scenes set in Cinders' home versus those in her beau's castle. Both as scripted and as performed here by Stephanie Foy, the Fairy Godmother is an unusually comic and self-aware creation, pragmatic rather than idealistic. This approach may work better for you than it did for this reviewer.

Debuting director Lauren Scarfe has designed a delightful show, relying mostly on the sparks that fly when talented performers are in synch with each other (and with their audience), but also cleverly utilising multi-media tools as a way both to move the story forward and to add humorous texture. Costumes go beyond impressive and into dazzling territory. Puppet effects are sparingly applied but splendidly done and wonderfully funny. Chorus dancers are accomplished and well-rehearsed, while the orchestra is particularly strong when underscoring wordless comic moments.

Northern Light have managed to prove that an old-fashioned tale can still come alive on a stage and give considerable pleasure to an audience, especially with the right cast, impressive production values, and a quality score.

Anthony Vawser