IF the adult pantomime has opened in Durban, then the festive season is not far off! This year’s adult panto is Sinder-Fella, produced as always by Sue Clarence Promotions and again written and directed by King.
This is a formula that has stood the test of time – full of fun and nonsense and, wherever possible, the most casual of phrases gets turned around to become outrageously risqué.
This is the story of Cinderella with the genders changed – the hapless pretty girl with two ugly sisters is now a good-looking young man with two ugly sisters! The fairy godmother is a fairy godfather and the loyal Buttons comes straight from Chatsworth!
What would an adult panto be without Stonier? Certainly never the same! This time, he’s one of the not-so-ugly sisters and there are some delightful scenes with Small who plays the other not-so ugly sister. This makes for a very strong duo and Small takes his talents to a whole new level in this role. I was also delighted to hear his singing voice properly for the first time.
The other long-term adult panto performer is Holtzhausen, putting in a fine performance in a number of roles, the most amusing of which was the busty young maiden in The Click Song. His partner in this hilarious scene is Munsamy, who also plays Buttons and is making his panto debut in Sinder-Fella.
As Princess Pandora Hugetit (the Prince Charming role), Moore again creates a delightful ditzy character who spends her time fending off Buttons’ amorous advances.
Another newcomer is Mpilo Nzimande as Sinder-Fella who is frantically trying to save his family farm from the machinations of his two sisters who are only interested in gaining husbands and moving from the township to Umhlanga.
This tall, slight young actor from Pietermaritzburg is to be commended for holding his own in this adult panto format where anything can – and usually does – happen!
There are many delightful scenes and highlights for me including the rickshaw scene, the aforesaid The Click Song and Stonier’s What Kind of Fool Am I? sung with much power and the odd hilarious glitch!
On the downside, the sound is at an uncomfortably high level in the opening of each act. Another major frustration was the poor bar service which was incapable of meeting the demands of audience members but, hopefully, this will be attended to before long. – Artsmart.co.za
•Take a picnic supper or make use of the various Suncoast outlets. Book at Computicket. Info, block bookings: ailswn@ mweb.co.za or 083 250 2690.