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Panto-tastic (Oh yes it is)
Watch out, Southsea! Charlene Tilton famously showed a poisonous streak as Lucy Ewing in Dallas, and now in her first pantomime she becomes progressively effective as Baroness Sadista becomes nastier.
The character is especially-created for the actress from the US of A. 'Whaddya think it stands for, Uther Side of 'Avant?' snarls Cinderella's evil stepmother after the Dallas music has announced her arrival on stage in a sparkly pink cowboy hat.
Yet although Tamara Wall as a rocking Cinders leads a strong opening Dancing In The Street, the show's first half-hour is strangely tame.
Only then, when she meets Prince Charming in the forest and they stand entranced in romantic bliss until Buttons comically insinuates himself between them, does the true panto magic take hold. That ability to evoke two responses at once is vital in theatre.
The show never looks back after the magnificent duetting of Cinders and her prince (Jason Lee Scott), and after former children's TV presenter Simon Grant as Buttons has established not only his energy and cheeky charm but a rich capacity for pathos.
The traditional routines are worked for all their worth and get the audience screaming delightedly, and the dancing, costumes and lighting are vivid.
A sometimes tired-sounding script sells the always-likeable Syd Little short (if he'll forgive the pun). But one piece of technical trickery with his voice, when his Baron Hardup bravely squares up to Sadista, is terrific fun.
Their singing of the Gershwin classic, Let's Call The Whole Thing Off, is also engaging in its own right as well as showing Ms Tilton can do it.
One side-effect of Sadista's presence is that it diminishes the nastiness of the Ugly Sisters, who look tame in comparison with their counterparts, father and son Matthew Kelly and Matthew Rixon, in the same panto at the Southampton Mayflower.
But the buzz of the more intimate Kings remains in a class of its own – and this theatre-goer at least prefers the real pony to the fantasy flying one up the M27 any day or night.
Until January 4.
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Weather for Portsmouth
Wednesday 23 May 2012
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