Cinderella - Victoria Theatre, Halifax - A Ball Invited

While it may not have as big a budget as some of the other pantomimes in the north, Cinderella at the Victoria Theatre abounds in slapstick, side-splitting jokes, and a sparkling panto that the production team can be proud of.

The Halifax pantomime has in the past been the launch pad for many a successful career; comedians Neil Hurst and Josh Benson have gone on to appear as leading stars in some of the biggest pantomimes in the country. In this year’s panto, Matthew Pomeroy and Natasha Lamb (aka The Conjurors) have a Las Vegas residency forthcoming following their appearance in this year’s Halifax panto.

Any successful panto must have a good balance of storyline, humour, and scenes that are not too long to stop younger minds from wandering, attributes that are at the forefront throughout this dazzling panto.

Kieran Morris returns this year as the charming prince ready to woo Cinderella, played with innocence by Emma Kirk, who delighted with a note-perfect version of Kelly Clarkson’s A Moment Like This.

Nathan Morris has one of those faces that makes you want to smile—his comic timing as Buttons was admirable. Halifax’s favourite, Dame Adam Stafford, has years of pantomime experience, as he brought a comedy twist to the evening as Nurse Brenda Brighouse. With Morris, they provided the biggest laughs from the younger members of the audience.

Ugly sisters Britney and Whitney were played by Tasha Shanade and Siobhan Diffin, respectively, though both seemed a little too glamorous to be perceived as ugly. The duo made a surprising entrance by appearing from the back of the stalls and walking through the auditorium carrying an array of designer label bags, the likes of which you would probably not find in Halifax Market!

Illusionists The Conjurors doubled as Queen Juniper and King Julian with ease, though it was their jaw-dropping magic that had the youngster sit next to me, questioning with innocence, “How did they do that?”

With the first half concluding with an amazing special effect of a horse-drawn carriage riding high above the audience, you might begin to wonder how they could better this. A question that was easily answered in an action-packed second half: whoever produced the idea of asking the audience to look under their seats to locate the key that would unlock the door to free a trapped Cinderella deserves recognition for a moment that was pure genius.

With excellent choreography, glittering costumes, and a traditional pantomime, Halifax has returned to the top yet again.

Pop on your glad rags and make a trip to this highly entertaining ball that will thrill young and old alike.