REVIEW | Rock ‘n’ Roll Cinderella, Liverpool Everyman
Ben Welch (Dame Fairy Godmother), Grace Venus (Ellanora) & Adam Keast (Graham) in Cinderella © Marc BrennerWritten by Aimee
Disclaimer: We were gifted a ticket in return for an honest review. All opinions are our own.
Last night I went to the Liverpool Everyman to see their 2023 Pantomime, Rock ‘n’ Roll Cinderella. The show is a twist on the classic Cinderella story, with us mainly following the story from the Fairy Godmother’s perspective, who in her last mission before retiring must help one last couple find love (with the help of her successor, Graham). This couple is of course the artistic Ellanora (Cinderella) and the introverted, comic-loving Prince Charming.
The cast this year really does give it their all in telling this story and it’s not hard to see they have a lot of chemistry with each other. They really do work as a team as they race around the stage, jumping in and out of different costumes, and also becoming part of the band. There are some really nice vocal moments with the likes of the Queen (Aminita Francis) who belts out Whitney Houston’s ‘Queen of the Night’, and Ellanora (Grace Venus) who sings a beautiful rendition of ‘Creep’ by Radiohead. In general, the mix of song choices by Arranger and Musical Supervisor Jamie Noar is great. There’s something there for everyone with a mix of classic tunes from artists such as the Spice Girls, whilst still featuring modern hits like ‘Padam Padam’ (Kylie Minogue) and ‘I’m Just Ken’ (from the Barbie movie).
The Set and Costume Design by Isla Shaw has its moments of strengths and weaknesses. The set is particularly strong, with some beautiful pieces like the pumpkin carriage and Ellanora’s house. However, I found the costumes for the majority of the show looked quite cheap in comparison and it felt like at times the two elements didn’t match each other. An example of this is the Fairy Godmother entering at the start of the show in a dress that made them look more like the Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland.
My main issue with this show however is the writing by Luke Barnes. I do like the fact that he didn’t conform to Panto cliches too often, with minimal use of lines like “it’s behind you”, it wasn’t overdone to the point where it got annoying (which I find sometimes can happen). However, the balance between appealing to children and adults was completely off. It was either really childish and sort of cringe to watch, or so obvious when making adult jokes that I actually questioned whether this show is really suitable for younger audiences. I understand that Pantomimes will often include some subtle jokes for the adults in the audience, however, this felt like it crossed a line into being an adult Panto. It was almost as if every other line was a joke or reference to a sexual act or something explicit, and it got to a point where I got slightly uncomfortable knowing children were watching this.
Overall I think this show had the potential to be a wonderful production, however, the balance between some of its elements was off. It was unfortunately too much for me to leave the theatre with a positive opinion of this show.
The Rock ‘n’ Roll Panto Cinderella continues to run at the Liverpool Everyman Theatre until Saturday 20th January 2024.
