You may adore the Disney version, with its chubby mice and rousing musical numbers, but Beijing Playhouse’s production of Cinderella, done in the British Pantomime tradition, is a whole other beast – in a good way.
For the unfamiliar, Pantomime is a UK institution that used to be the crowd-pleasing, cross-dressing elephant graveyard for B-(to-Z) list celebrities and future stars, before reality TV came along. Now, it shares that talent pool with the likes of Dancing on Ice and I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here! Case in point: David “The Hoff” Hasselhoff will be taking on the role of Captain Hook this Christmas in Bristol.
Beijing’s version won’t have Mitch Buchanan from Baywatch, but it will have (subtly) bawdy gags (for the mums and dads), silly physical humor, candy tossing, crowd interaction and a cast of characters rounded out by Mr. Buttons – the loyal friend who helps Cinders snag the prince, despite his own pining after the sooty sweetheart.
A set of tickets for you and your family to this year’s show is up for grabs in this week’s giveaway. Here are the details for the shows:
Wednesday, Nov 30
7.30pm
British School of Beijing (Shunyi)
OR
Friday, Dec 2
7.30pm
British School of Beijing (Shunyi)
For your chance to win, just leave a comment with your answer to this question: Who would you want to play Mr. Buttons here in Beijing?
The best answer wins!
And while we have you here, here’s our handy guide to crowd interaction at a panto.
1. If someone asks you where another character is then the audience is generally being prompted to shout, “He’s behind you!”
2. If there is some confusion and the character on stage then says, “Oh, no he isn’t!” You need to respond with, “Oh yes, he is!”
That is all. Good luck.
Contest ends Monday, Nov 28 at 11am.
