Young stars in the making join The Brunton's Cinderella cast
Rehearsals are under way for Cinderella, this year’s pantomime at The Brunton, and 26 young people from across the county are taking part.
Nearly 100 young people attended open auditions in August to join the cast of Cinderella, this year’s pantomime at The Brunton, and 26 were recruited to form 3 teams of 6 and 1 group of 8 people, to perform at alternate performances. The successful dancers are in for hard work with weekly rehearsals until the pantomime opens on Tuesday 24 November.
The successful young dancers came from across the county: Bethany Willis from Dirleton; Elli Robertson-Rowan from East Linton; Hannah McCluskey and Anna Wait from Gullane; Katie Craig, Lucy Cunningham, Jamie Fleming, Rebecca Knox, Oliver Menzies and Carrie Steedman from Musselburgh; Max Barbour, Lucie Davidson, Madison Gray, Sophie Hetherington, Ellen Maslen, Gloria Morrison and Carys Tulk from North Berwick; Kirsteen Brownlee from Ormiston; Georgio Michalakis, Paige McKinlay and Hope Wilson from Port Seton; Josh Marshall, Tiegan McIntyre, Erin Robertson and Elise Wilkinson from Tranent; Niamh Rayfield from Wallyford; and Jodi Hendry from Tranent, who has been appointed Youth Choreographer and Understudy.
Rhian Reynolds, choreographer said: “We were looking for all round performers who could sing, dance and act. We auditioned nearly 100 young people and the standard was very high indeed. We have now cast 26 young people, and rehearsals are already underway. Our young cast is in for a lot of hard work, but it’s also a very rewarding experience and a lot of fun too.”
Cinderella is a festive treat full of fun and laughter with oodles of gags, local references, chart hits, outrageous costumes and shouting out. This year’s production, produced by The Brunton, sees the return of Mark Cox as writer and director, best known to audiences as Tam Mullen in BBC’s Still Game. Robin Peoples, well known for his fabulous theatrical creations including set design for The Singing Kettle, also returns to design set and costumes.
The young dancers join a professional cast including Richard Conlon and Mark McDonnell as the Ugly Sisters, who delighted audiences last year as the hilarious Cronk and Squelch in Jack and the Beanstalk. They are joined by Kirsty Halliday as Cinderella, Blair Robertson as Prince, Shonagh Price as Fairy Godmother and Derek McGhie as the Prince’s Manservant. Both Kirsty and Derek are well known in East Lothian for their tutoring work with East Lothian Youth Theatre and Brunton Players.
Cinderella is at The Brunton on Tuesday 24 November until Saturday 2 January. Tickets are available from The Brunton on 0131 665 2240 or www.thebrunton.co.uk
