Cinderella with a Welsh twist is ideal for little 'uns

(Morning Star, 17 December 2008)

Cinders
Sherman Theatre, Cardiff

IN a darkened theatre, stars glinting surreally in the sky and silence punctuated by the loud whispers of some under-sevens, order suddenly seems less than assured.

The cast of characters have their work cut out.

Fortunately, they are possessed of two very important things, a neat and entertaining script and an uncanny knack for comedy.

Being for young children, the lion's share of the laughs come from pratfalls as opposed to insightful characteristics, but that doesn't mean that all four players don't give Cinders their all.

The Crimbils are elven creatures who live at the bottom of the garden.

Their native language is almost incomprehensible so they make a show of speaking in English for comprehension purposes.

The children react well to being involved in a secret language not usually for "peebles."

In this play, the Crimbils are heartsick over the story of Onnen, a Cinderella for the ages, with all the family and romantic trauma that entails.

There is a nice taste of Welsh in here - Onnen means "ash tree."

The one drawback is that the involvement of the audience doesn't occur until almost three-quarters of the way through the play, which may lead to a little drifting on the part of little ones.

Still, there's plenty of fun to be had here.

The Crimbils are excellent at mugging and mocking as the four of them act out the Cinderella story with an ever more inventive series of costumes and voices.

Perfect for "tiddley peebles."