Christmas in Glasgow lost its sparkle last year when the theatres remained shut over the Christmas period, meaning the traditional Glasgow pantomime was unprecedently cancelled. However The King’s Theatre has returned better than ever this year with their festive offering of Cinderella featuring lots of colourful scenery, plenty of heroes and villians and of course a little bit of magic courtesy of the Fairy Godmother.
The familiar tale was given a Scottish twist being set in Glasgow with some familiar Glaswegian landmarks including Kelvingrove Park – although you may be a tad confused by the appearance of the tap dancing Kelvingrove polar bears. Expect the unexpected in panto land!
Elaine C Smith and Johnny Mac resumed their regular long standing lead roles playing Buttons and the Fairy Godmother and certainly were the stars of the show with their slapstick comedy and quick witted banter which delighted the audience. The duo are particularly talented at including lots of innuendo – sometimes just with a knowing look – which provided plenty of hilarity for the adults as well as the children. The whole cast were clearly enjoying being back on stage once again and their enthusiasm and energy to providing top class family entertainment was second to none.
The scenery was exceptional with plenty of lavish gold baroque style sets, beautifully crafted glitzy costumes and some magical props including a talking teddy bear and a spectacular flying coach to take Cinderella to the ball. The musical score was catchy with some covers as well as original numbers and had everyone in the audience clapping along, peppered of course with plenty of boos, cheers and “oh no you didnt” chants .
The finale ended with the now popular Scottish summer anthem “Yes Sir I Can Boogie!” which had everyone in the audience leaping to their feet to sing and dance along.
Families of all ages will enjoy this highly entertaining production which will almost certainly bring some magic and sparkle back to the countdown to Christmas.
Cinderella runs until 2 January 2022.
