Cinderella at Theatre Royal Nottingham Review
Written by Hollie for Theatre & Tonic
Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review
Will Cinderella ever find her Prince? Will she lose or gain a few things along her way through the Kingdom? Will her evil stepmother get her comeuppance? At Nottingham’s Theatre Royal this Christmas, Cinderella is Crossroads Pantomimes’ family pantomime of choice, starring big names including: Craig Revel Horwood, Christina Bianco and Neil Hurst. Will you be spellbound or left running away before the clock strikes midnight this festive season?
Audience members wearing their sequin Christmas jumpers and children holding their light-up wands were enthusiastic about the evening performance. Have you ever wished you had a Fairy Godmother? As if by magic, one appears stage left to open the show on the sparkly and beautifully lit stage. Christina Bianco, who plays the Fairy Godmother, introduces the audience to the small town of Nottingham where a girl called Cinderella is being treated poorly by her evil stepmother.
Throughout the pantomime Christina, as the Fairy Godmother, provides moments of light relief with her impressions of famous singers and celebrities. Her singing talent is phenomenal and really added a bit of much-needed sparkle to the show.
Craig Revel Horwood plays Cinderella’s evil stepmother, Baroness Demonica Hardup. Many Strictly Come Dancing references and ‘amazing’ and ‘fabulous’ comments are sprinkled throughout the show. The Baroness’ daughters are even named Claudia and Tess in a reference to Craig’s day job. Several dance-offs and loads of clever choreography were used throughout the show; however, the Strictly jokes felt a bit overdone for me and were a bit obvious.
It soon became clear that the money had been spent on the inclusion of a range of special effects within the show. They were mesmerising and real wow moments for the young members of the audience, but it was not enough for me to be able to forget about the incredibly dated and archaic script, which really let the cast members down.
As a 90s child myself, including Agadoo and a song by Bryan Adams that I can’t even name was incredibly disappointing to hear at a pantomime in 2025. One of the chosen songs was a track aptly named ‘Life’s a Dress Rehearsal’ and that’s exactly what this evening felt like. Competing with their neighbours, Nottingham Playhouse, Crossroads Pantomimes desperately needed to inject some energy, modern music, and relevant jokes to ensure that this panto didn’t fall flat on its face.
One cast member who was ensuring that the jokes weren’t too forced, and was receiving genuine laughter from the audience, was Neil Hurst as Buttons. Neil really got the crowd going with his natural sense of humour and his ad hoc one-liners when things went a little wrong on stage. His camaraderie with the chosen children of the audience was a highlight for me, as was his solo singing number with his favourite childhood toy.
The talent of the actors and ensemble, both with their singing voices and dance moves, were the highlight of the evening and their stage presence really shone through.
A special mention needs to be provided to the head of wardrobe Lesley Brown, who created some fabulously intricate and imaginative costumes which brightened up the stage as well as the show.
If you are looking for a traditional pantomime with all the ‘he’s behind yous’ as well as a witty and a-maz-ing villain, then this could be the pantomime for you. Cinderella continues its performances throughout the festive season until Sunday, 4th January 2026.
★ ★ ★
