Review: CINDERELLA, Norwich Theatre

In Norwich’s 2025 pantomime, Cinderella, written by Joe Tracini and directed by Andrew Lynford, audiences are transported to the beach town of Crabbington Sands, where Cinderella (Georgie May Foote) has been trapped in the old hotel that her deceased parents used to run by her wicked sisters, Lou (Owen Evans) and Lav (Kenny Moore). But, when Cinderella is able to escape for a day, she finds herself running into the Prince (Danny Hatchard) and falling in love, working to achieve her happily ever after with help from her friend Buttons (Joe Tracini) and her Fairy Godmother (Hannah-Jane Fox).

Audiences are introduced to the world of Crabbington Sands by the Fairy Godmother, who floats down to the stage in a bubble like Glinda from Wicked (as some of the younger audience members excitedly exclaimed). She is actually retiring from her job, as she is running out of rhymes - as proven by her struggles to get rhyming couplets out. Finally, the curtain lifts and the show begins, revealing a bright and colourful beach-themed world (with set design by Scenic Projects).

The choreography by Aimee Leigh is bright and bubbly, brought to life by the ensemble (Joseph Brownlie-Johnson, Blair Cameron, Thomas Gotobed, Holly Houseman, Eve Leoni, Josh Peberday, Misty May Tindall, Pele Yeardwood) as Cinderella sings “Unwritten,” longing for a life beyond the hotel walls. 

Unfortunately, even though Cinderella has a fun concept of being located on the beach with Cinderella fighting to reopen the Hardup Hotel, most of this is almost immediately forgotten, only being brought up in one or two scenes before the finale and its impressive pier-style set. There are a few fun numbers, including a great duet between the Prince and his assistant, Dandini, played by a woefully underutilised Jeevan Braich. As Braich uses what little time he has on stage to riff for his life, one wonders why he was not cast as the Prince instead!

There are only a few references to the city of Norwich itself, with one of the main ones being the Wicked Sisters shopping at Jarrolds Department Store. It’s also a bit of a strange choice to not have too many innuendos and more adult jokes (even though the ones they do put in are particularly funny, including a comment about one of the Wicked Sisters catching crabs), and then have Cinderella sing Remember Monday’s “What The Hell Just Happened?” Indeed, the pantomime seems to not be able to decide what direction it is going in, at times going completely over-the-top and other times appearing very reserved in its silliness. 

There is also the problem of the character of Buttons, who, in this particular production, feels like a bit of a creep, only focusing on his unrequited love for Cinderella (even though, as he says, “I’ve got absolutely no rizz because I’m 37”) and not caring about anything else. Tracini also has a tendency to break at every single joke he makes in a way that makes it seem completely forced, unlike some funnier moments in the show when other cast members involuntarily break. 

The pantomime definitely loses steam after the interval, with most of the high-energy songs coming in the first few minutes during the scene at the Prince’s ball. From there, it’s a chase as the Prince playing “The Shoe Must Go On” to find his lost love, a long birthday shoutout and singalong (focused on the weirdly off-topic Wiggly Woo). There’s a lovely message that everyone is enough as they are at the end of the show, however, leaving the audience with a sweet thought as they leave the theatre.

Cinderella is a decent pantomime for all ages with some talented performers, but struggles to keep up with a relatively simple plot and theme of the beach. The show as a whole cannot seem to decide what it wants to be, making it difficult to stand out and make a name for itself in the world of pantomime this season. 

Cinderella runs at Theatre Royal Norwich until 4 January 2026