Cinderella – Review – Grand Opera House, York
By Roger Crow, December 2025
It’s a good few years since I last saw a panto at the Grand Opera House in York, and I did wonder what I was letting myself in for. Would the gags feel fresher than my last visit? Would the sets be more spectacular? The songs more dazzling? Thankfully the answer to all of the above was ‘yes’.
Lisa George spent years in Coronation Street, and left Weatherfield as the 60-plus year old soap went from great to bad to terrible, in my opinion, obviously. What was once the Cinders of the soap operas has now become the ugly sister, and not in a good way. Lisa’s character Beth was never really given the chance to shine. Thankfully she’s luminous as the Fairy Godmother in Cinderella, one of the hottest tickets in town.
(Full disclosure: we’ve been friends for a decade, and even I had no idea she was such a great singer.)
“Absolute delight”
Jimmy Bryant is a terrific Buttons, channelling a mix of Ricky Gervais, a young Paul (Ted Bovis) Shane, and Peter Kay, but only hints. He’s a star in his own right, great at working the crowd, dispensing the double entendres and ensuring everyone has a great night.
Rachel Grundy is a marvellous Cinders: blonde, beautiful, a bit ditzy (like GOH panto veteran Suzy Cooper), and perfect at juggling the assorted key elements: as the apple of Buttons’ eye; incurring the wrath of the ugly sisters (the excellent Luke Atwood and Brandon Nicholson) and obviously making Prince Charming (Tobias Turley) do a double-take every time he sees her.
And PC is an absolute delight, whinnying like a horse, dispensing Carry On-worthy “Did he really say that”/What does that mean mum?” gags, and being generally noble in a likeable Matthew Macfadyen-style way.
“Outrageous attire”
The young dancers are adorable; the sets are pure panto – fairytale storybook style rather than Sistine Chapel masterpieces, and there’s the reliable old staple of people falling off a wall. There’s also a ‘spooky’ moment with a ghost which relies on key characters having no peripheral vision. “It’s behind you!”, yell the masses, as they have for generations, but of course for many kids it’s their first experience, and I’m taken back to seeing Dana in the early 1970s at the Grand Theatre, Wolverhampton more than 50 years ago. I still remember it vividly, so it’s heartening to know how long those memories will last for the wide-eyed attendees between now and January 4, 2026.
The songs include a great variation on Lady Gaga’s ‘Abracadabra’, and the ugly sisters’ costumes give that diva a run for her money in the outrageous attire stakes.
It’s also a joy to hear a variation on a track from La La Land, as well as other killer tracks.
“Outstanding”
There was genuine magic in the air, as there is in most pantos. It’s that mix of tried and tested set-up; a winning cast, gags (and Gaga) for the young and old, and that sucker punch “awwww” first act closing moment, as well as the feelgood ending that keeps punters coming back year after year.
The run time is perfect; the choreography outstanding, and the all-important sense of organised chaos means when the wheels inevitably come off, like an ugly sister’s wig, we’re revelling in every second.
On the strength of this, I won’t need much persuading to attend Peter Pan at the GOH in 12 months’ time.
It’s been a great year at the Grand Opera House in 2025, and this is the must-see icing on a very impressive cake.
4.5 out of 5.0 stars
Cinderella is at York Grand Opera House until 4th January
