Cinderella transforms into a Brummie bab for The Old Rep's festive panto

For more than two hours, the audience was thrilled by this amusing rendition of Cinderella at The Old Rep.

Despite Cinderella being ‘a tale as old as time’, there was something for everyone in this family-friendly production, directed by Lorna Laidlaw. This production celebrated 10 years of BOA Christmas at The Old Rep, as created by BOA Birmingham and a large portion of the set design was made by the academy.

In this version of Cinderella, the famous tale is reimagined in the faraway land of Birmingham for a 2025 audience. The story starts with the Birmingham bin strikes - poking fun at the situation many Brummies have found themselves since March 2025. Additionally, the various Brummie accents on stage proved relatable entertainment to the audience.

At the heart of the tale, bonded by a mutual interest in dance, Cinderella (Jaiden Tsang) meets and falls in love with Prince Charming (Stefan Davis), she’s invited to the ball and they dance, then she leaves her silver Converse shoes and the prince has to go all around Birmingham to find Cinderella.

That’s the short version, in between, there is plenty of humour and fabulous song.

I enjoyed the local Birmingham twists in this production. This included a lively re-imagined song of ‘Good Morning, Baltimore’ though this time sang as ‘Good Morning Birmingham’. As well as, Cinderella’s step-sisters looking for a rich man in Birmingham - wondering if Sutton Coldfield or Solihull was a better place to travel to to find one. That is until, of course, Prince Charming turns up on the scene.

The show was what it was because of its numerous comedy stars. Baroness Hardup (Julie Ann Baker) starred as a classic panto villain, that the audience could playfully jeer and the actress was able to command the stage in an effortless way, as she played Cinderella’s wicked stepmother.

Similarly, Jordan Laidley who played Dandini played brought the humour as the Prince’s companion, making the audience laugh as he impersonated the Prince for a day.

Of course Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother (Therese Collins) provided a great anchor to the story, with great performance and lovely narration.

In addition to this, I found Cinderella’s step-sisters Chloe and Kim to be super funny and they were fabulously played by Sam Yetunde and Victoria Tew dubbed the ‘Selfie Sisters’ in a double act.

Their signature yellow and pink outfits in every scene were a treat to look at and was an example of great colour matching outfits. The sisters have that fun influencer style branding that feels very up-to-date and elicits a modern humour that parents in the audience could appreciate.

Overall, this was an enchanting performance filled with plenty of laughter, music, and festive cheer.

The entertaining theatrics of Christmas panto humour, which included dancing and vibrant fun, moved me. I would definitely recommend this production to all who are looking for a fun, family-friendly show to watch in the lead up to Christmas.

Watch Cinderella at The Old Rep until 31 December, tickets available for booking here.