Wednesday 28 December 2022
De Montfort Hall is one of Poppy’s favourite venues to visit. With it’s wonderful acoustics and spacious auditorium, she always feels at home.
Having perfomed at De Montfort Hall in FTM Dance’s Cinderbrella on the run up to Christmas, Poppy was eager to see the much-awaited Cinderella pantomime come to life, with an impressive cast including Strictly’s AJ and Love Island’s Curtis Pritchard and CBBC’s own Evie Pickerill.
Before the show
Poppy had been keen to watch the pantomime at De Montfort Hall for weeks – as soon as the word Christmas was mentioned, that was her cue to ask ‘when are we going to De Montfort Hall to watch the pantomime?’
The day finally arrived and we set off in plenty of time. The staff on the door ushered us in and once we’d had a quick bag check, we headed straight to the Box office to pick up our tickets. Everyone was extremely helpful and we were sorted in no time.
We decided to pop into the bar for a drink. Again, service was very speedy and nothing was too much trouble.
Relaxed performance guides were available if required, and a quiet area also available if everything gets too much. It was reassuring to know this, although we didn’t need it this time.
In the theatre
Ushers on the doors were very happy to help which meant we were able to navigate straight to where we were sitting. It was lovely to see it so busy, although I did wonder how Poppy would cope. I had no need to worry as she soon settled into her seat.
We had a quick look though the programme and Poppy said she was looking forward to watching AJ the most!
It was great to see the British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter on the stage who signed the whole show for the audience.
The show started and Poppy was soon laughing away at Buttons – played by the aptly named Jarred Christmas – jokes. She really warmed to the two ugly sisters Claudia Wibble, played by Sophie Camble and Tess Wibble, played by Millie Robins, and was dancing away in her seat when they sang ‘sisters are doing it for themselves.’. The influencer theme was a great twist on the tale too.
Baroness Verruca Wibble, the evil stepmother, played by Jacob Kohli played her wicked part so well that she got booed by Poppy each and every time she appeared on stage.
The Fairy Godmother, played by Madison Swan was definitely a hit in Poppy’s book – her singing was just wonderful and Poppy was singing away to all of her songs.
Dame Penny Pockets, played by Richard J Fletcher, had great comedy timing, keeping the audience amused with her well-timed banter with the rest of the cast.
One of the best parts of the show for Poppy was when Buttons was pretending to get Cinders ‘ready’ for the ball and got the audience involved in the sounds and so it felt like we all had a part in the show, too, including the ‘clip-clopping’ of the horses and the creaky door.
When the Fairy Godmother arrived to sing ‘A Moment Like this’ whilst preparing Cinderella for the ball, Poppy sat mesmerised, such a beautiful song delivered so perfectly by Madison Swan.
The scene with Cinderella’s dress reflecting the clock was absolutely magical, Poppy loved this. The horse and carriage were just wonderful and Poppy watched transfixed as they drove away.
Poppy’s favourite part – the 12 Days of Christmas was a big hit in her book. She joined in with the sketch trying to remember what came next whilst giggling away. We liked the touch of using the super soakers without water too.
During the break, we were pleased to note that the hand dryers were turned off and so Poppy was able to cope well.
The ball scene after the break was just wonderful to watch, and Poppy loved all the sparkly costumes. As you’d expect, Cinders had to make a sharp exit at midnight and lost her glass slipper in the process and Poppy was laughing away as the Prince looked for his love by letting the sisters try on the lost shoe – the part with the longest stocking in history being hilarious.
Poppy always enjoys the ghost scene, and the one with Penny Pockets and Buttons didn’t disappoint. She joined in with ‘It’s behind you!’ at every available moment.
Finally, Cinderella gets to try on the slipper which fits, and marries Prince Charming with the audience all invited to the wedding. Everyone is invited to stand up and dance to the finale and Poppy didn’t need any encouragement, she was up and dancing away.
Imagine Theatre’s Cinderella is at De Montfort Hall until Monday January 2, 2023.
If you missed this season’s relaxed performance, we would highly recommend booking for next years performance of Jack and the Beanstalk.
Poppy’s star rating
