Hilarious panto is magical '“ oh, yes it is

As pantos go Cinderella is a classic '“ and Berwick Maltings' professional production was nothing short of magical.

With a few twists on the classic tale, it was brought to life by a cast of fantastic actors and actresses, a brilliant sound track and, of course, some great one-liners.

The audience is transported to the magical land of Tweedle on Up (see what they did there?) where a princess ball is set to take place.

Berwick Maltings presents CinderellaBerwick Maltings presents Cinderella
Berwick Maltings presents Cinderella
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But will Cinderella be allowed to go? Well, of course, she was there, but no thanks to her evil stepmother Toxie Tartington and hilarious stepsisters Rhubarb and Custard.

Throw in her best friend Buttons and a Prince and you have the making of a fabulous production.

Brought to life by some brilliant musical rewrites, it really is fun for all the family.

In the Maltings’ production the Princess Ball is not to find the Prince a wife, but to be crowned a princess for a year and a day, and it is hosted by Prince Reginald – Reg the Leg, and his uncle King Barty.

Berwick Maltings presents CinderellaBerwick Maltings presents Cinderella
Berwick Maltings presents Cinderella
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Georgia Fordyce was the epitome of Cinderella. Beautiful, graceful and wonderfully kind. Her voice was powerful and pitch perfect, and her transformation into a princess was second to none. A fantastic scene full of pyrotechnics and light made it truly magical.

Jonny Ritchie was superb as Prince Reginald – who had the audience eating out of the palm of his hand.

His voice was also compelling and the duet between the Prince and Cinderella was sensational.

Wendy Payn, not only director of the entire production, was also superb as Toxie Tartington – suitably seething with Cinderella and a wicked stepmother – I certainly wouldn’t mess with her.

Berwick Maltings presents CinderellaBerwick Maltings presents Cinderella
Berwick Maltings presents Cinderella
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But of course two of the most hilarious characters were the ugly sisters, Rhubarb and Custard – or Barbie and Star as they referred to themselves on stage – Euan McIver and Mark Vevers.

Their outrageous outfits, which included dresses with curtain poles at the top and another made from carrier bags, among others, were just fabulous. And their overdone makeup, wit and humour were just as good.

They were just hilarious.

And who could forget poor old Buttons. He loses the love of his life, but he does it with a smile.

Ross Graham played the gummy-bear loving best friend to Cinderella with aplomb. He was suitably silly and a joy to watch.

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Charlotte Summers was also fab as the fairy godmother and the transformation from pumpkin to carriage and so on was another big hit – a truly spellbinding scene.

And John Stenhouse was superb as The King of Hearts, King Barty.

Some of the scene changes may have been a bit clunky, putting the audience in darkness each time isn’t the most seamless of changes, but it doesn’t detract from the overall production, which was once again fantastic.

There were some superb songs from Baby Shark and Chocolatte to those from the Greatest Showman. It was a feast of music and fun.

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The young dancers (of which there are two teams) were impressive. It is a fantastic show not to be missed.

Cinderella will be on stage at the Maltings until Sunday, December 30. Book online at www.maltingsberwick.co.uk