'Cinderella'

Where: Hackney Empire

When: November 30 to December 31 of 2017

About the Makers:

• Hackney empire: built in 1901 as a music hall, refurbished in 2001 by Tim Ronalds Architects and reopened in 2004 as a cultural venue in the heart of London’s East End; it has a variety of theatre that embraces a local and global community of artists and audiences. Visit their website here: https://hackneyempire.co.uk
• Susie McKenna: writer and director of Cinderella’s pantomime. She was creative director of Hackney Empire for seven years, but she is still engaged with the venue as a freelance writer, director, and actress, performing her work at the theatre itself.
• Steven Edis: composer, arranger, MD, and pianist of Cinderella, Where is Peter Rabbit by Jeeves, and sometimes he works at comedy store. Follow him on: http://stevenedis.com and https://twitter.com/steveedis?lang=es
• Mark Dickman: freelance musical director, pianist and keyboard player, arranger and performer. He's been working with Hackney Empire in different productions and has participated as a musician in several theatres and concerts. More about him in: http://www.markdickman.co.uk and https://twitter.com/markdickman?lang=es
• Aisha Jawando: As Cinderella, she is a singer, dancer and actress. Her professional career started with a part in the National Theatre’s 2010 musical production of Fela, followed by a part in Disney’s musical Lion King and in 2012 she took the part of Ikette in Bob Eaton’s Soul Sister.

The Experience:

This day was a combination of a lot of first times: it was my first time going to the Hackney Empire, my first time watching a big theatre production in London, and my first time at a pantomime or “panto” as people usually called it. Some people said that they do not enjoy much this type of theatre, while others were excited and totally love attending pantomimes. I just waited for it to start and judge by myself.

When I get inside the theatre I realized two things: one was how beautiful and old the building was and the other one was the amount of kids inside, but the reason came clear when the show started with a guy introducing the play and asking the audience to shout when they liked something or somebody and to say “boooo” when they didn’t; as it can be expected, the children enjoyed shouting and they compromised with their roll during all the play.

We all know the story of Cinderella and all the difficult situations she went through. One interesting thing about all the show was that most of the songs included where well known by the audience. An example of it was "Bestie" by Yungen and Yxng Bane or "Despacito" by Daddy Yankee and Luis Fonsi. They also manage to introduce important and difficult topics about United Kingdom politics; as for example the immigration status of Dandino, the prince servant, and also daily life situations, like couples not talking just using their smartphones, or how far we are from nature nowadays. All these topics were perfectly well managed and included into the play, making every moment natural and entertained for the audience.

I was also surprised with the scenario and the way everything was presented. The tricks they used and the design of each space was amazing. I would love to be part of one production like that one day, especially because everything was professional and they made many things happen that are actually very difficult to develop onstage like lifting a carriage with people inside and still make it look as if it was the consequence of a magic trick.

There was only one thing I didn’t enjoy and was the promotion of stereotypes. For example, Dandino, the servant I talked about before, was Italian and had some difficulties with his immigration status. This is just one of the examples of European Union citizen worried about the effects on Brexit on their lives and careers. The two rats were Mexican, which, as a Latin American, I find disrespectful; I believe there was no necessity on giving them a nationality, and if so, why did they chose a Latin American country? (Not that any other country is all right). Another example is using Drag queens for the roles of the twin sisters; because of that, they were shown as ugly, annoying, childish, and spoiled girls that just think about themselves and their fiscal appearance. Finally, the other two servants in the play were black, one of them Cinderella. By the story we already know that she is treated as a servant by her stepmother and stepsisters, but this becomes a problem when we meet Buttons. Both are black and both are expected to serve others' needs, as it happens with people coming from different countries of Africa and Latin America. I understand the purpose of Hackney to include people from different contexts and minorities, but at the end of the day I wonder: is the way they are doing it is the best way, especially because they continue promoting stereotypes that people don’t seem to question at all?

But besides this, the pantomime was really fun to watch and participate in. I had the possibility to be a child again, to shout, dance, sing, and participate with the actors every time they entered and went out the scene, but also every time they asked for our help. This is why it can be an event for any age, because it has young and adult content, but always being careful on how they introduce every joke and song during the play. I am glad I participated in a “panto” and I am looking forward to be part of another one in the future.