Jennifer Ellison and Cilla Black in Cinderella at the Liverpool Empire Theatre _320
IT WAS a premise that couldn’t fail, and last night Liverpool proved itself a deserving location for a £1m panto – "all Scouse", of course. Was Cinders happy ever after the Scouse wedding of Phil Redmond’s now legendary culture year analogy after all?
The Empire has pulled out all the stops for this year’s production – the biggest in the country – and as such is punctuating the end of the city’s 2008 with a giant, sequin-studded, jewel- encrusted exclamation mark. Much- loved Liverpudlians – and honorary Scousers – down the generations, from Cilla and Les to Jennifer Ellison and Hollyoaks’s Nick Pickard, to newcomer Stephen Fletcher as the Prince, all knew they were literally up for the show of shows, and in no way was the audience let down.
The hilarious highlight is surely the nonsensical version of The Twelve Days of Christmas as interpreted by Les Dennis, the understated but consistently hilarious Ted Robbins and the unexpectedly gorgeous Nick Pickard, shrugging off the typecast of "Tony from Hollyoaks" to appear far too comfortable in Mr Darcy- type breeches and boots.
Pete Price and Roy Brandon as the Ugly Sisters do a great job (watch out for their impressive Liverpool and Everton wigs when they first appear), and Jennifer Ellison as Cinderella gives everything a West End shine with a striking professionalism. The easy- going, naturalistic natures of Dennis and Robbins make it almost easy to overlook the hard work the pair put in.
But it’s Cilla’s night, and she takes to the stage as the hostess with the mostess as if she had never been away. As Fairy Godmother, she cranks up the Scottie Road accent (furry godmother, anyone?), revels in her new-found status as beloved grand dame of all things kitsch and camp, belts out some of her hits, wears some knock-‘em-dead costumes, and flirts with the best of them. This version of Cinderella is as traditional as they come – so, if anything, at times it is just a matter of waiting for the peaks of the story to roll around. But, one thing’s for sure, nothing about it is ordinary.
