Written & Directed by Lewis Baird

Choreographed by Aidan O’Brien & Amy Campbell

Musical Direction & Original Music by Tommie Travers

Tickets from £15.50

With the Portobello Town Hall once more erupting with a thriving sense of life and community (following the group’s critical success with Oliver!) Stage Door Entertainment sets its eyes on casting magic of a different order – with the venue’s first professionally staged pantomime in several decades. The lights are up, the doors open, and the sweets poured for ravenous audiences: so what story could ignite the festive magic in a hall long since dormant from panto-cheer? Well, the story of the unfortunate woman, her fairy godmother, and a pair of glass slippers.

Shifting the bones of the story to the Portobello setting, Lewis Baird writes the show with a distinct local flair in humour and storytelling. The writing finds itself at a tricky crossroads – it doesn’t follow the more traditional avenues of a pantomime, and Cinderella could certainly benefit more from the inclusion of skits and routines, but Baird’s script isn’t necessarily doing anything entirely fresh with the story either – instead landing quite comfortably in the middle. With so many variants on the tale on Scottish stages this month, Stage Door’s Cinderella offers a reliable and engaging telling of a classic tale – told with plenty of big, bold characters and oodles of hearts on sleeves.

But for what the writing may side-step in the structure, it fills with an appreciation for the musicality of it all. And lord, does it sound good. Baird’s direction works in strict tandem with Tommie Travers’s musical direction to ensure a pep and constant flow of motion throughout the show, meaning it never lets up but still allows for touching and tender moments – usually at the graceful hands of our Cinderella this evening: Amy Campbell. Touching with a reserved sweetness, carrying a fire which belts out in vocal or movement sequences, Campbell fuses a traditional princess with a contemporary lassie just making their way in the world. Working to choreograph the piece with Aiden O’Brien, they and Campbell work Travers’ original underscoring into the beats of the show – one which brings a fresh inclusion of pop into the classic bones of a very musical-theatre piece of panto.

Ensuring Cinders makes it to the ball is the biggest job in all of Pantoland. And it takes a true champion Godmother to carry it through. So how lucky the cast are to find themselves such a welcoming and professionally adept dame in Andrew Gardiner. Gardiner’s Fairy Maggie is a lavish presence matching Mischa Zielinska’s striking pantoland set in colour and impact. They have a natural affinity with working the crowd, if anything, the script could allow a touch more interaction between Gardiner (and others) and the audiences to whip up a proper panto frenzy.

Succeeding in capturing the needed panto elements, with plenty of callbacks, gags, and japes with the crowd, is Ollie Hiemann’s Dandini gets a sense of free reign in throwing as many shots and jokes as they can while feeling entirely natural and energetic. Receiving the largest laughs outside of Gardiner’s performance, Hiemann shares this comedic top spot with Laure Scott’s exasperated Buttons, who brings much of the plot threads together as they whiplash themselves all over the place.

But a successful Cinderella needs a terrifically callous baddie audiences can turn on, and in Nicola Alexander’s Baroness Davina Hardup, who soaks up every moment they can in the villainous limelight – sharpening her claws at every opportunity, the show gets it. Alexander owns every ounce of that stage whenever they have the opportunity and is one of the few performers who utilises the varying levels of height to full effect. In no small part in a trio of Baird’s direction, Travers’ musical design, and Alexander’s delivery they turn very popular (sometimes too popular) tracks into freshly created dynamic highlights – chiefly Anti-Hero, which Alexander channels a disdainful antagonism into with relish.

And really – with daughters like these, can one blame the Baroness for being so short-tempered?, Clumsy, privileged, and more than likely hiding a few choice stains as they collapsed through a nineties bargain rail, ugly sisters Stonky and Wonky may not be the most divisive or unique on the antagonistic pairing, but Harrison and Leo MacNeill fit the roles out hilariously, encouraging the boos and aggression the audience are only too happy to furnish them with.

Performed with a remarkably clear sense of passion and drive, Stage Door Entertainment’s Cinderella revives the magic of the Portobello Town Hall for new generations of panto fans with a truly heartfelt, humorous, and frankly – great value-for-money experience. With a playful script, one which benefits from the musicality of the show, Cinderella doesn’t just make it to the ball – they bring the entire party to the good folks of Porty, hopefully for many more years to come.

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