Panto review: New Theatre Royal’s star-studded Cinderella cast excel

Pantomime season has kicked off in style in Lincoln, as the cast of Cinderella brought the house down at the New Theatre Royal with a show packed with TikTok routines, laughs and a classic tale of romance.

The New Theatre Royal Lincoln’s annual Christmas pantomime stars Kerry Katona, Jake Quickenden and co brought their Cinderella show to packed audiences for the first time.

The production runs from Tuesday, December 6 until Sunday, January 8 – with tickets available from £26 for adults and £23 for children on the New Theatre Royal website.

The story of Cinderella is as old as time, detailing the tale of a spirited girl who defies the odds of her mean family to meet Prince Charming and fall in love, thanks to the help of her Fairy Godmother (or in this instance, godfather).

The cast list saw the New Theatre Royal’s artistic director Natalie Hayes-Cowley take to the stage for the first time in six years, playing the role of Ugly Sister Filler, as well as producing and writing the show.

Her daughters Georgia and Charlotte also featured, with the former playing the title role of Cinderella and the latter playing Baby Filler.

Georgia’s remarkable singing voice elevated her already strong performance as Cinderella, while Jack Barnard’s depiction of Prince Charming was sweet and believable in his quest for true love.

The other stepsister, Ugly Sister Butox, was adopted by former Atomic Kitten member and reality TV personality Kerry Katona – while her daughter Lily McFadden played Baby Butox.

The Ugly Sister character arc was a real highlight of the show, with Natalie and Kerry exaggerating their roles as nasty pantomime villains withe effortless ease.

Their performance paid homage to the nasty attitudes of the classic roles within the Cinderella tale, while also nodding to modern trends of TikTok dances and cosmetic surgery to bring the characters into the 21st century.

Despite his clear struggles with illness during the show, Jake Quickenden displayed why there was such a fuss made about him last year (when he stole the show as Flash Hugo in Beauty and the Beast), with another fantastic performance full of charisma and personality.

His depiction of the Fairy Godfather role was refreshing, interactive and, above all else, hilarious. Crowd interaction is such an essential part of pantomime productions, and Quickenden seems to be a complete natural at it.

From the first moment he emerged on stage, wearing a frilly tutu and holding a sparkly wand, Jake was hyper aware of how he looked. “It’s been a rough year” he declared to a theatre of laughing people, though the dress didn’t last long and he was soon in a pristine white suit instead.

The greatest compliment you can give his performance is that Strictly Come Dancing star Ian Waite has some very large shoes to fill when he takes over from Quickenden for the second half of the dates post-Christmas.

Another stellar performance came from Arran Wilson, who expertly riled the crowd up as the dastardly Wicked Stepmother. It was his first time as a villain, but you certainly couldn’t tell.

He often encouraged the crowd to rain down on him with boos and wasn’t afraid to dish some funny insults out, while occasionally flirting with an audience member in a way that only pantomime fans can understand.

On the other hand, comedian Patrick Monahan was the crowd sweetheart as Buttons, communicating with the crowd and sharing laughs with his cast members to create a real sincerity to the show.

An art to mastering pantomime is understanding not only the ridiculousness of a situation, but also allowing the chance to laugh at your own expense.

Whether it was Kerry Katona joking about the amount of husbands she’s had, or Jake Quickenden trolling himself over the amount of reality television shows he does, self-deprecating humour was alive and kicking at the New Theatre Royal.

It’s early into the run of shows for Cinderella, and there were times you could tell the cast were just getting used to their surroundings, occasionally breaking character to engage in a few laughs – but that only served to add to the charm of a show that flowed so naturally you would be forgiven for thinking it was improvised at times.

With a running time of just over two and a half hours, the show is a thrillride from minute one to the final curtain fall, and it is the ideal way to get into the Christmas spirit with all the family.

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