Michael Cross: ‘Cinderella is the Kate Middleton story, in lots of ways…’

…we have big school parties in during the week we’ll tailor it to people who are, on average, around seven, eight years old; a Saturday night will have families in so we’ll bear that in mind as well.

What can you tell me about your cast this year?
We’re a pretty new company this year, because we’re moving into the realms of an actor/musician production. Two-thirds of the company, if not more, are not only actors but also seasoned instrumentalists and vocalists. They really are multi-skilled individuals. We have artists coming from far and wide, from all kinds of different backgrounds – all coming together to help me tell this tale!

Simon Egerton is the composer for the show – and he’s had a very busy year, also writing for various productions by Eastern angles…
What Simon is brilliant at is lyrics, and he’s also very good at pastiche. He’ll find great ways of making you listen to a tune and you think, ‘crikey, that’s familiar!’ But it is an entirely new tune. It’s certainly an art to take a piece of music and to create something new with it.

‘One of the opening songs has the theme of “a panto party”, and that’s the spirit that we always try to put across – people come along and have a party!’

You’ve played the Dame a fair few times in the past. Are you yearning to put on a frock and some greasepaint and return to the limelight?
Well, never say never! There’s a performer in everyone who works in a theatre, even people who work backstage. There’s something about the fact that you want to do something for an audience, I think, perhaps in all of us, so I suppose I do sit there and think, ‘that would be nice.’ But I have to say to you quite honestly, that I do enjoy working on something for a short period of time, with a talented group of people, and I can pop back every now and then to see how it’s evolved. I don’t have to worry about whether I feel well, or tired, because performing it is exhausting. You do two, sometimes three shows a day, and when you’re not on-stage you’re probably doing something to get ready for the next show, it can feel a bit relentless. The cast all work very hard for five weeks – and I don’t envy them! I’ve been on-stage feeling terrible, I wouldn’t want to go back to those days…

Finally, what can people expect this year?
The Key Theatre has a long history of producing family entertainment at Christmas. This year, all the elements that people love and recognise will be there, but there’s a new twist on it. One of the opening songs has the theme of ‘a panto party’, and that’s the spirit that we always try to put across – people come along and have a party!

Cinderella runs from Thursday, 5 December to Sunday, 5 January and tickets are available now from the Key Theatre Box Office. Call 01733 207239 or visit www.vivacity-peterborough.com