Cinderella At Hull New Theatre Review
DISCLOSURE – TICKETS TO SEE THE SHOW WERE GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER AND GUEST FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW
Reviewed by Lisa Harris
This year’s panto at Hull New Theatre is Cinderella. Easy to find and with plenty of parking nearby the theatre itself is nicely located for all visitors.
Our seats were in the circle CC which meant we were third row upstairs, our view was unobstructed as the seating is well layered, there was enough leg room although not ample (There is more in the stalls) and the seats were comfortable.
Let’s start with the really good bits – the staging, costumes, lighting and overall production were very good indeed and absolutely deserve a mention. I was really impressed with these aspects – the stage set was beautifully sparkly under fantastic lighting which set the scene for magic to happen.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t wowed as everyone hopes to be at panto.
The writing (Alan McHugh) was not as strong as anticipated and although panto is intended to have some jokes that go over children’s head’s, some of these felt a little close to the edge for me.
The panto lacked much of an actual story and felt like it was based around “filler” scenes rather than the main events, which was such a shame as the staging was so impressive.
The first half was slow and lacked “oomph” and throughout the slap stick elements needed a little more work and perhaps more of them over all to fulfil panto expectations.
Lee Mead (Prince Charming) gave an overall mediocre performance, and his signature number (Any dream will do) was weak as an opening number for him. He forgot his lines and his choreography was off in places sadly, for a leading role it was disappointing and forgettable.
The Fairy Godmother (Olivia Mitchell) was presented in an unexpected way, her costume was not a patch on what you would expect for the role and the strength of portrayal of the character was sadly not the magical experience you would hope for from a fairy Godmother.
Cinderella (Rebekah Lowings) gave a solid performance and oozed panto character lead in every foot turn and hand twirl.
Hernia (Peter Peverley) and Veruca (Jack Land Noble) had of course the best costumes as the ugly sisters, although as panto dames there have been better.
Neil Hurst as Buttons carried the show and offered the best audience interaction as you would expect. Delivery of his lines and stage presence was appealing and most of his audience interaction was on point. To note was the heteronormative assumptions when chatting with children, boys were asked if they had a girlfriend, and girls if they had a boyfriend, which in 2023, made me wince a bit.
The atmosphere in the audience in the first half did feel a little strained, perhaps the children were warming up to the characters as the second half appeared to have louder engagement and it felt the actors tried harder to engage.
The second half did feel a bit better than the first, and much as I would love to say I loved the show, I didn’t. The potential is there and perhaps with more rehearsal or energy from some cast members it might get there.
The show itself started a little late and the interval went on longer than expected.
A small note to the refreshments at the venue. The ground floor bar had most of the seating removed to form a bar queue and merch stand, so there was mostly nowhere to sit down. We were guided upstairs where we found limited seating. The top floor circle bar was closed which was a shame for the atmosphere not least convenience.
At the interval, the only place I could find selling ice cream was the stalls by the stage, I had to come down the flights of stairs from the circle to locate and queue for this – after walking around upstairs, going down to the floor level bar and the first-floor kiosk. By the time I queued there was only two flavours of ice cream left and people in front of me decided not to bother. This was a real down point as the association is ice cream at the interval. It was possible to order to your seat, however, personally I value stretching my legs at the interval and am not a fan of the extra bags and packaging to deliver although I could see many took advantage of this service and appreciated it.
Staff and facilities
Unusually there were no staff around I could find to ask for information on any of the floors, the only staff I could see were working the bar or kiosk. Facilities at Hull New Theatre are spotless and plentiful, if you know where to go, as they seemed to bottle neck on the ground floor.
Price & Value
Sadly, I would not consider the price of the tickets good value for money. Our seats were in the £30+ category, and as a regular theatre goer I am accustomed to paying a decent price for a good show. The acting let this show down and so for that reason my score is low as is the value for money. Despite excellent aspects in staging, lighting, production, music and costume, it does all rest on the quality of acting in the end, so for that reason I would have paid around £15.
It was opening night, and I did overhear staff saying it was better than the dress rehearsal, so my hope is they improve as the performances go on. The runs lasts until the 7th of January.
Rating: 3/5
Price of tickets : £17.50 – £32.50
Tickets can be booked by visiting https://www.hulltheatres.co.uk/events/cinderella
Hull New Theatre Kingston Square, Hull HU1 3HF