Sheffield Lyceum's 2019 panto is set to be a hit - oh yes it is!

As I took my seat at Sheffield’s Lyceum Theatre this week, for the opening night of its 2019 production of Cinderella, I thought I knew exactly what I was in for.

There would be a beautiful girl, of course, and an effortlessly charming prince. I was geared up for groans of awkward laughter, and had prepped my five-year-old in advance for bouts of ‘he’s behind you’ and – the classic – ‘oh no it isn’t!’

But it seems nobody’s ever going to accuse the team at Sheffield Theatres of being stuck in the past.

First up, the welcoming greeting of ‘Ladies, gentlemen and children’ was expanded to include ‘single parents, alternative families, and non-binary gender-neutral individuals.’ Over the next two hours, everything from copyright and hashtags to Instagram and Tinder got a mention; speed cameras and potholes punctuated the carriage ride to the ball; and there were quite a few Sheffield references that made us all feel right at home.

The show also proved it wasn’t afraid to get political, introducing its two ugly stepsisters – played utterly winningly by Matt Daines and the always fabulous Damien Williams – as the unspeakably awful, but terribly funny, ‘Donaldina’ and ‘Melania.’

And 2019 Cinders has sass! The sweet-but-strong leading lady stood up to her bullies early on, insisting: “If the aim is to make me cry, you’ll never succeed.” And for those who were expecting a traditional telling of the age-old classic, there was an adorable shout-out to girl power within the first ten minutes from eight-year-old Mildred, one of the show’s junior performers, who stepped forward confidently to inform Buttons that Cinderella ‘doesn’t need a man to save her,’ and that she ‘cooks because she wants to, not because of some pre-conceived notion that she should’ to the cheers of every woman - and feminist man - in the audience. Well said, that girl.

The festive experience kicked off with a rousing Strictly-style opening (a nod to the fabulous Joanne Clifton who appears as the Fairy), a brief guest appearance via the big screen (you’ll have to wait and see...) and – in true Yorkshire style – a well-timed joke at the expense of vegans.

Every character involved in the show seemed to get their moment to shine, including the fantastic musicians who took up residence in the theatre’s boxes, putting them right in the heart of the action where they performed with such enthusiasm, it was sometimes hard to tear your eyes away from them. There was also lots of audience participation for those hoping to get involved, with conga-lines, karaoke, and the stepsisters’ search for ‘the most handsome man in the audience.’ One lucky lady even got chance to slip her foot into the glass slipper.

CBeebies ‘Mister Maker’ Phil Gallagher does a brilliant job as the endearing and funny Buttons (BFF to Cinderella), and Ben Thornton shines as Dandini, the prince’s right-hand man, with impeccable comedic timing. Evelyn Hoskins’ Cinderella is smart, wilful, and winning, with a fantastic voice, and Oliver Watton’s Prince Charming is absolutely everything it should be, leading us to root for this pairing as if we hadn’t done it all so many times before. Strictly star Joanne is the perfect Fairy Twinkle choice, frothy and fabulous; and gets to show off some serious sparkle with delightful hints of tango and jazz slipped in, as well as some serious samba.

There were some stand-out moments: an empowered Cinderella channeling her Greatest Showman to belt out This Is Me, a game of Disney pun-o-meter that made my cheeks hurt with laughter, and the stepsisters outfit, which got more elaborate and ridiculous every time we saw them. Hats off to the costume department on this one. And then of course there was the beat-boxing flute player, the aerial acrobatics, the snow that fell from the ceiling (yes, really), and the classic ‘Sheffield Lyceum ghost gag bench’ which was met with appreciative cheers.

As the curtain came down on the opening night of the 2019 festive run, I honestly couldn’t remember the last time I’d enjoyed a theatre experience quite so much.

Of course there’s still the beautiful girl, and the charming boy, an ugly dame or two, and a winning chap called Buttons, but there’s also so much more; a dollop of the ‘new’ and a dash of the ‘traditional’ wrapped up in a talented package of performers that present comedy, friendship, and a fiercely proud community as the true stars of the show.

We had a great time. (Oh no we didn’t!)

Ohhh, yes we did.