THE STAGE REVIEW | CINDERELLA @THE RIVERFRONT

CinderellaPublished Monday 5 December 2011 at 12:39 by Susie WildEven in the year of a Royal Wedding, not every modern girl wants to grow up to be a princess. In Newport, however, Will and Kate fever appears to have taken hold and many women and girls in the audience are dressed up as exactly that, settling down to believe in fairytale dreams. Hiss & Boo's production keeps the ancient story traditionally soft, sappy and relatively unchanged, and a more contemporary world is instead only hinted at with the Ugly Sisters' Primark bags and occasional, catty LOLs.The cast of Cinderella at the Riverfront, NewportThe romantic leads Nichola Lagan (Cinderella) and Rob Wilshaw (Prince Charming) are suitably saccharine and prove strong on vocals, but the song choices are often weak. Still, it is a saving grace that the show hasn't suffered too much under the influence of X Factor. Instead, it leans towards the stuff of real magic with a flying horse, fireworks, sparkle and indoor snow bound to bring out childhood delight and festive cheer in all people of all ages.As an added bonus, Buttons provides a party trick, teaching the audience how to pronounce Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch. Although you might not manage it after three glasses of sherry on Christmas Day.Read the review on The Stage website