A Small Mind At The Theatre

For Milton Keynes Theatre's 2023 pantomime, production company Crossroads has come up with its take on the classic story of Cinderella . Often told, and a panto staple of many a theatre this year, it is required to come up with a spin or two to make it stand out from the pack. However, does it have enough fresh ideas and lavishness to be the big MK Theatre show of 2023? Fortunately, the answer is yes, but perhaps only for one reason, heading the cast, and the only big name in the cast, is vintage treat Brian Conley, and what a treat he is. To say that the success and failure of Cinderella rests on Conley's shoulders is no understatement, as other than his presence, and the admittedly lavish looks of the set and show in general, this production is nowhere near of the quality for such a big theatre. The personalities of the rest of the cast are by the numbers sadly, with just a couple of exceptions. The Fairy Godmother played by Lucy Conley (daughter of Brian) is excellent. Her

Last year's pantomime at Royal & Derngate was exceptionally successful. Sharp, funny and entertaining for all ages, so, it makes a lot of sense for the theatre to mine from that success once again. So, while this year Jack and his beanstalk are exchanged for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs , you could be forgiven for thinking at times you are watching the same show as this treads the same format throughout. It doesn't matter one jot though; this year it still feels fresh and actually stronger in many ways. Produced once again this year by Evolution Productions, co-founder Paul Hendy has again written a fine script to make a superbly entertaining pantomime, with an exceptionally strong cast. Alongside his wife, Emily Wood, also co-founder of Evolution, and here in the directing chair, this is stunning entertainment. Leading the cast as the eponymous princess Snow White is the captivating Lauren Lane, and she is a delight in the role. She has a lovely singing voice and charms

So, as December draws in, the world of theatre moves into panto season and first up this year is Castle Theatre’s production of Cinderella , and the deja vu world begins again and we are all crying “He’s behind you” and “Oh no you’re not” etc, etc. Perhaps it is reassuring in a world of change that pantomime land never changes. The jokes might get a little nudge, a few of the characterisations might change a bit, but you all know that we will have a split theatre singalong, a grand wedding at the end and a multitude of stuff you have seen year after year. Unlike many of the bigger theatres around the country, Castle Theatre, presents a pantomime with no “big name” from the showbiz world in sight, just great little stage performers, and how refreshing it is to see. No awkward bolted-on references to a star's normal day job, just more emphasis on fun characters and the usual sly references to the local towns and villages. That, in itself, is great to see. The title character is playe