Having a magical ball with Cinderella at Inverness
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IF Cinderella is the most magical of pantos, as Iain Lauchlan believes, then he has certainly taken it on board for his first production of the tale in Inverness.
Back in his customary roles of director, co-writer and dame for his third panto at Eden Court with his Imagine Theatre Company, Lauchlan has said his aim to make this Cinderella more magical, more romantic and funnier. By and large, he succeeds.
Eden Court audiences are now well used to Imagine’s high production values, such as 2009’s Jack and the Beanstalk, but even by the company’s own standards this year’s stand-out special effect, Cinderella’s flying coach, made for a jaw-dropping conclusion to the first half.
Of course, all the glittery costumes, eye-catching sets and glamour will not count for much if the performers do not engage with their audience or the laughs do not come, but fortunately Lauchlan has not overlooked the human element.
Avoiding celebrity casting in favour of a cast which can be relied on to do its job, he seemed to make a shrewd choice in installing Alastair G. Bruce as Buttons.
A veteran of Eden Court pantos having previously played the title role in Aladdin, Bruce’s energetic, cheeky-chappy performance soon broke any ice with the Eden Court audience and had the children, and not a few adults, quickly joining in with the action.
He also worked well with the double dame team of Lauchlan and Greg Powrie as Ugly Sisters Flatula and Verucca, especially in a funny bit of business involving the sisters’ bathroom preparations and the obligatory “it’s behind you” scene with a ghost.
Lauchlan himself is always good value, gleefully presiding over the action like a naughty schoolmaster, and even the romantic leads of Anna Mitcham as a Cinderella, who can actually sing, and Claire Waugh’s Prince Charming, did not leave you wishing they would hurry up so the show could get back to the comedy, a feeling engendered by too many pantos where the love scenes just slow down the action.
No Scottish audience can resist singing along with a Proclaimers’ song, and one is deployed to good effect in the show – if ever an Eden Court panto was worth travelling 500 miles for, it is this one.
Cinderella is at Eden Court’s OneTouch Theatre until Sunday, January 8.
