The Hong Kong Players' latest production opened on Thursday at the Shouson Theatre in Wan Chai. The cast and production team have clearly worked hard to make this a vibrant performance with mass appeal, and it has paid off. The result is a pantomime with larger-than-life characters, cringe-inducing puns, funny dialogue, familiar songs, audience participation and a happy ending.
The company doesn't have the budget to provide lavish scenery and costumes, but that's quickly forgotten thanks to an energetic cast who look as if they're thoroughly enjoying themselves.
All the usual favourites are here. There's the shrill and vile stepmother, the bumbling, henpecked father, two fairy godmothers, a faithful Buttons and a sweet Cinderella, all supported by a young, enthusiastic chorus.
The stars of the show are the cross- dressing Ugly Sisters (Lucas Cox and Brian Schwarze) whose fabulously grotesque outfits become more tasteless with every change. They kept the audience laughing through the two-hour show with a string of one-liners and none-too-subtle innuendoes delivered with Aussie accents and faultless timing. The performance was threaded with local and topical asides that resonated well.
Buttons, heartwarmingly played by Pedro Reichert, was an instant hit, especially with the younger audience members, and the fairy godmothers - one a slow-learning trainee and the other her impatient coach - were well cast in their small but snappy roles.
The second act seemed a little stretched, but the cast kept up the pace to the end.
