Cinderella Pantomime Review – New Wimbledon Theatre

In true Christmas spirit I recently attended The New Wimbledon Theatre to see their version of the pantomime Cinderella directed by Michael Gyngell!

The pantomime follows the well-known traditional story of Cinderella, who despite being trapped by her wicked stepmother receives help of her fairy godmother to find her one true love. Spoiler alert - her one true love, of course, ends up being Prince Charming.

The star ridden show was headlined by Craig Revel Horwood as The Wicked Stepmother Baroness Demonica Hardup. The Strictly Come Dancing judge portrayed the character hilariously and exceeded expectations with his vocals! They managed to entwine many Strictly jokes which was a hit with the audience. The wicked stepsisters were played by Leanne Jones and Catherine Morris, the three were the epitome of panto earning several boos from the audience.

Although we sadly saw little of him, Solomon Davy was very impressive as Prince Charming with magnificent vocals on display partially in his comedic duet of “Anything I do I do it for you”. The former Rydell High Student even got his signature Kenicky dance move in during his rendition of Dua Lipa’s Dance the Night. Davy’s co-star Cassie Compton played protagonist Cinderella, she too had stunning vocals from the start and overall had a great performance. The pairs managed to portray the wholesome couple perfectly and their vocals blended beautifully together, although I did feel the love story itself got lost a little at times.

Daniel Norford and Alison Jier played Dandini and the Fairy Godmother. Despite not having a lot of time on stage they both were a joy to watch.

Pete Firman as Buttons was hilarious appealing to all ages with his humour and quickly became a crowd favourite. His stage presence was great, and he was the necessary bridge between the show and the audience. The magic tricks he performed were amazing, and I still have no idea how he did them! Although I did feel some parts dragged on, I can appreciate they are probably targeted more to the younger audience. 

The set design by Ian Westbrook was absolutely beautiful bringing the traditional fairy tale vibe to the stage, the ballroom scene was one of my favourites with all the intricate detailing. This partnered with the special effects and lighting really brought the magic of Christmas to life. From the moment we entered the New Wimbledon Theatre the auditorium was filled with projections of Christmas pictures with Christmas music playing out through the speakers.

The costumes designed by Mike Coltman were typical panto with eccentric designs filling the stage, Baroness Demonica Hardup’s array of changes were particularly impressive, as were the dancing pumpkins! I enjoyed that the soundtrack was made up of well-known songs, such as ‘I Will Survive’, incorporated into the story by changing the lyrics, to also bring humour to the stage. The choreography by Lizzi Gee is fantastic and was mainly brought to life by the talented ensemble, who demonstrated tap dance to ballroom, but also featured Revel Horwood competing in a dance off showing off the proper way to move!

My favourite part of the whole show was the first half finale, where Cinderella set off on her journey to the ball in a flying carriage with horses, leading us into the interval. It left the audience in awe and was probably the best bit of theatre I’ve ever seen. For it to be in a panto is exceptional!

Overall the panto was nothing short of fab-u-lous, it captured the magic of Christmas and I can see why this panto is a fan favourite, I would therefore give Crossroads Pantomimes production of Cinderella five stars. It is at the New Wimbledon Theatre until Sunday 7th of January, so I’d definitely recommend a watch to finish off the festive period!

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Accessibility at the New Wimbledon Theatre

Located just a five minute walk away from the fully accessible Wimbledon station, The New Wimbledon Theatre is located on the high street. When we arrived, there was a separate entrance for wheelchair users along the side of the theatre, this led us straight to a lift to take me down to the stalls.

The theatre is small, and intimate compared to those on the West End meaning it was slightly tight for me to drive around, there were people selling programmes on the way in, so I was able to get a programme without needing to go to the inaccessible shop. Our seat was at the right of the stalls in row H, we had a fantastic view and had no obstructions in the way. Something to mention was the excessive use of smoke particularly at the end of the first half which left the auditorium foggy for several minutes. Other than that, and people standing up at the end blocking my view, the theatre was brilliant.