It's become very much a festive traditon to take the family to Milton Keynes Theatre's pantomime and this year's production of Cinderella is running until 14 January with the return of panto royalty Brian Conley as Buttons. Brian's been in 30 pantomimes including several in MK so the show's in very capable hands (although let's hope he doesn't get ill!).
This year's show has broken from the pattern of an ensemble cast and gone for a single big name with a strong story which to its credit feels more like a glitzy West End musical at times - not feeling the need to shoehorn in 'oh no it isn't' or 'he's behind you'. There's also a few twists to the story to keep it fresh - the Fairy Godmother is called Fairy 312 because she's still in training and has to make a success of it to graduate Fairy Academy and get her wings. Lucy Conley is fantastic in this role and steals the show, really getting the audience rooting for her.
Of course, Brian is completely at home on the panto stage and seems effortless as he takes (apparent) mishaps and audience participation in his stride. There's some genuinely hilarious moments (look out for the bit with the toilet!), cheeky jokes that landed well with the older children and some spectacular visual effects - Cinderella's transformation and the pumpkin coach left our three year old open mouthed and stunned into rare silence as the curtain came down for the interval!
Neal Wright and Ben Stock as the ugly sisters Claudia and Tess are everything you'd expect, fab-u-lous but despicable! And there's a strong performance by Sarah Vaughan as Cinderella and James Darch as 'Prince'.
Although some of the scenes will be familiar from previous years, there's a great Britain's Got Talent parody with Dangerous Buttons performing a magic trick, and a spectacular sparkly finale - we're still finding glittery confetti in our pockets!
This is a wonderful show - everything that pantomime should be - heartwarming, hilarious and magical. Don't miss it!
- Brian Conley as Buttons 2
- Brian Conley as Buttons
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