This year at the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre, Cinderella has taken a new form in the sparkly shoes of Timmika Ramsay.
Timmika played a stunning take on Cinderella's character, I thought she brought more joy and fresh spirit than any other Cinderella pantomime I've seen. I was amazed when I saw Timmika step out onto the spectacular stage of the Hammersmith Lyric Theatre, a black woman with curves, as I'm sure the rest of the audience was too. Hammersmith's take on Cinderella exceeded my expectations with the many hidden morals buried beneath the surface of the altered storyline. Timmika said she is "looking forward to young black girls seeing me as Cinderella" as I'm sure it would enlighten the younger generation into seeing that fairytales don't have to subject skinny, white females to play the protagonist but face normality and have a coloured, curvey woman take the stage instead. Timmika's lively performance fixed a smile on my face the whole way through. I failed to spot a fault in her acting, she succeeded in playing Cinderella exceptionally.
My personal favourites in the whole show were Popsy and Topsy - the stepsisters- played by Lauren Samuels and Mairi Barclay. From the second they appeared on stage, I could not contain my laughter. They executed their comical characters so well, leaving the audience in hysterics. I loved their modern take on the stepsisters as I'm sure the majority of teenagers in the audience understood their eccentric characters.
I would like to draw special attention to Lauren Samuels (Popsy) and Jodie Jacobs (Buttons) who carried out a very special side plot to the story. I won't spoil the story too much but their soft approach to demonstrating what it's like to feel out of place by the archetypal world we live it and to realise who they truly are when it comes to loving others. Although a member of the audience behind me had the audacity to groan at Popsy and Buttons' shared kiss, their relationship touched my heart and was portrayed so astonishingly.
All in all, I am thrilled to have been given a chance to watch this moving take on the Cinderella story which incorporated several messages behind the LGBTQ+ and black lives matter communities.
