Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *
Cast: Coleen Nolan, Liz McClarnon, Pete Price, Pauline Daniels, Billy Boyle, Shaun Mason, Kieran Jae, Edward Griffith.
The Empire Theatre always has the reputation of hosting the most sumptuous and glistering pantomime productions and this year has been no exception as the cast for Cinderella provided a fantastic evening’s entertainment for the assembled audience.
Cinderella is one of the most performed productions at the festive period and it is with no wonder that it regularly gets the stage time that it deserves and with singer Coleen Nolan, Atomic Kitten superstar Liz McClarnon and Liverpool legend Pauline Daniels within the great troupe, it was surely an outstanding pleasure for all concerned to boo, hiss and sing along to some of the great numbers performed on stage.
With the abundance of theatrical performances on offer to the Liverpool public this year, each show has to offer something unique to make sure that the audience never feels theatre lagged by a certain story, in The Empire Theatre’s version of Cinderella, by having one of the superstars of the 1970s and 80s perform The hit I’m In the Mood for Dancing and the ever fabulous Liz McCLarnon, who was radiant as the lead character, performing the Atomic Kitten’s Bangles Hit Eternal Flame within the narrative of the story, this was about as unique as you could ask.
The music that accompanied the pantomime was nothing short of enjoyable and had the entire audience clapping and laughing with great glee as Steve Hall, Mal Hall, Ray Fensome and Steve Gilbertson gave magnificent readings of the music.
One of the great surprises of the show was Shaun Mason as Buttons. Shaun Mason is one of the great vocal artists of his generation and his unerring ability to change his character’s dynamic is a pure and honest delight of the show. From high pitched lovelorn confidant of Cinderella to mimicking others is worth watching the show on its own, when thrown into the mix of the overall story it becomes nothing short of a scintillating spectacular for the senses.
A brilliant and compulsive pantomime!
Ian D. Hall