It is officially pantomime season! Coming soon is a local production by Stage One Theatre Group that will bring to life the story of Norman Robbins’ Cinderella. On December 4-9, the Emba Theatre in Paphos will fill with pantomime lovers, ready to enjoy a heartwarming and comic show in English.

The tale of Cinderella is a well-known one. Yet Norman Robbins’ pantomime goes a little beyond the classic fairy tale. Its premise is the same. Cinderella lives with her cruel step-sisters, she cooks and cleans while they tease her day in, and day out. When a royal invitation for a ball arrives, the sisters are eager to go, ignoring Cinderella’s requests to also attend.

We all know, how the story goes, the Fairy Godmother transforms Cinderella into a princess and off to the ball she goes. In this story, however, the lonely prince of the ball is worried that the ladies will only desire him for his wealth so he and his page boy swap places to see which girl will fall for who the prince really is.

The tale continues as we know it, pumpkin carriages and all, with plenty of pantomime classic twists and turns. The author of Cinderella – A Pantomime, Norman Robbins, is one of Amateur Theatre’s most popular authors and an avid theatregoer since he was young. He wrote his first stage show almost 60 years ago and this December Paphos audiences will have the chance to catch an adaptation of his Cinderella and her glass slippers, under the direction of Peter Sandwith.

Cinderella – A Pantomime

Written by Norman Robbins. Directed by Peter Sandwith. December 4-9. Emba Theatre, Paphos. 7.30pm except on December 8 at 6.30pm. €15. In English. Tel: 99-967737. [email protected]