Panto was full of fun

It was Cinderella, but not as you’d know it, writes Mike Wade (Isle of Man Newspapers)

 All the characters were there, from the poor, put-upon heroine, to the wicked stepmother, the dim-witted step siblings, the fairy godmother and the handsome prince. But something was just a little different.

Maybe it was because Cinderella had a moustache? Possibly.

But, then again, you should expect a Hello Little People pantomime, especially one entitled ’Cinderfella, Yessir!’ to be something out of the ordinary.

With all these aforementioned characters, plus more, played by the two little people themselves, Chloe Shimmin and Michelle James, the panto was an excitable whirlwind of colour, music, shouts and whoops which had the young audience screaming along with enjoyment.

Chloe and Michelle were an frenzied blur of joyous, fun-filled energy, swapping between roles in lightning speed and using wonderfully imaginative and slightly daft ways of bringing more characters on stage.

Michelle played the poor, put-upon Cinderella, who is stuck at home with the wicked stepmother, played by, er, Michelle, and her two silly step brothers, Eddie and Freddie. These were played by either the two actors or a couple of mops with baseball caps on.

Chloe was, in turn, Zip (instead of ’Buttons’), the prince and the disco-loving Fairy Godmother.

The prince had decided to do away with his usual ball and hold a singing competition instead, and, once the Fairy Godmother got stuck in, Cinders found herself dressed in spangly converse trainers, wearing a huge purple moustache and going by the name of ’Cinderfella’ and - spoiler alert - went on to win the competition and, after the wicked stepmother had tried sawing off Freddie’s toes to fit the shoe, the hand of the prince.

Such was the level of invention, imagination and energy thrown at the show, you had no choice but to go along with it and enjoy every second.

Kids were encouraged to shout as loud as they could, and get involved where they wanted, creating a genuinely lovely, family-friendly environment which left huge smiles on the young crowd’s faces.