Cinders in fandabidozi panto

:: This review originally appeared on the Shropshire Star website on 16th December 2009 ::

Who’d have thought it – the Krankies are massively popular again. Oh yes they are!

Back for an all-star panto run of Cinderella at Wolverhampton’s Grand Theatre and playing Baron Hardup and Buttons, the comedy double act’s resurrection is nothing short of a fairytale.

Then again, their childish messing about and adolescent jokes are simply the perfect ingredients for pantomime, and this production of the Christmas favourite is truly magical, hitting the perfect balance between tickling the kids’ funny bones while at the same time playing to the adults – kind of like the Simpsons, only with Ian Krankie as Homer and Jimmy Krankie as Bart.

We all know the Cinderella story – it’s how we get to what we know that sets a panto apart. And this version of the family classic does it with some style.

Fabulous outfits, spellbinding sets and magic befitting of the wand of any fairy godmother who dishes out wishes and makes them come true.

Neighbours star Stefan Dennis plays the ghastly Dandini who tries to scupper the prince’s plans to wed Cinders, while X Factor star Niki Evans shows her true talent as the Fairy Godmother.

Add into the mix fun, frolics, a flying horse and, fresh from his TV commercial, Churchill the dog, and we have a Christmas panto with bells on.

But really it’s the Krankies who make this a family show to behold. At one point, wee Jimmy Krankie tries to gatecrash the ball by dressing up as Britain’s Got Talent sensation Susan Boyle, complete with hairy eyebrows, and the result is truly hilarious. We even get to see Sue-Bo naked.

As they say in Krankyland: this panto is fandabidozi- oh yes it is!

Another wacky and wonderful seasonal show

:: This article originally appeared on The Shuttle website on 16th December 2009 ::

THE queen of British variety is back for another wacky and wonderful seasonal show at this Black Country theatrical gem.

Janette Krankie, who this year celebrated 40 years of marriage to partner in comedy crime Ian, lights up the stage with every appearance, whether it’s as Cinderella’s trusty chum Buttons, cheeky Wee Jimmy Krankie, foul-mouthed Ozzy Osbourne or fellow Scottish sensation Susan Boyle, complete with Denis Healey eyebrows and an incontinent cat.

Her ab libs and timing are as sharp as ever. I loved her comment to a weeping Cinderella that “it could be worse, you could be watching Joe Pasquale at the Birmingham Hippodrome” - a reference to the Grand’s West Midlands panto rival.

Janette receives strong support throughout in this excellent show. Neighbours baddie Stefan Dennis hams it up as treacherous Dandini while Danielle York is a sweet Cinders.

Ben Stock and Nathan Kiley get plenty of laughs as ugly sisters Trinny and Susannah, whose over the top costumes would make Gok Wan faint and Nic Greenshields’s Prince Charming is suitably dashing - though very tall!

And I was really impressed by the Midlands’ own Niki Evans, whose bubbly personality shines through in her Fairy Godmother role. She gets the best songs, too.

A fab, festive night out with songs, chuckles and something for all ages. The flying horse that closes act one has to be seen to be believed.

- Teresa Phillips

Audience has a ball as jokes are Krankied up

:: This review originally appeared on the Express & Star website on 16th December 2009 ::

Explosions, a flying horse, a fairy godmother with a thick Brummie twang and The Krankies in fine form – panto season in Wolverhampton is well and truly underway.

Thousands of visitors both young and old will flock to the city’s Grand Theatre over the next month-and-a-half to check out this year’s offering of Cinderella.

Billed as ‘the greatest panto of them all’, Cinderella has everything you could want, or indeed expect, from a pantomime, from the dastardly evil villain, the dashing prince, the sugary-sweet leading lady and plenty of slapstick comedy.

This was provided mainly by The Krankies, whose energetic, high-spirited and charming performance made them a big hit with last night’s audience. It was Janette Krankie’s uncanny portrayal of Britain’s Got Talent finalist Susan Boyle that sparked the biggest laugh of the night.

Recreating SuBo’s now infamous first audition, she donned a wig, thick black eyebrows and her best singing voice to take off her fellow Scot with ease. Neighbours villain Stefan Dennis, best known for his role as Paul Robinson, fitted the role of Dandini well, played with a Gollum-esque feel.

His scheming was matched only by that of the ugly sisters, aka Trinny and Susannah, played by Ben Stock and Nathan Kiley.

The beautiful Danielle York, playing Cinderella was just as you would expect the pantomime princess to be – enchanting, gentle and sickly sweet. She was well-matched with her Prince Charming, the impossibly tall Nic Greenshields.

Former X Factor semi-finalist Niki Evans played the Fairy Godmother. Her vocals were impressive throughout.

The backdrops were well thought-out and seamlessly engineered. But it was a flying horse and carriage, whisking Cinderella to the ball at the end of the first half, that was most impressive. This year’s panto is everything it should be – heckles and insults were merrily banded about and the crowd left smiling. And that’s just the way we like it. Oh yes we do.

- Catherine Dalton

If you think The Krankies are just an act from the past, forget it!

:: This review originally appeared in the Walsall Advertiser on 16th December 2009 ::

TINY Janette Krankie has become a giant of the pantomime scene, and she is back in the Black Country with husband, Ian, to delight audiences at the Grand.

Now in her 60s, she is a gleaming bright Buttons and a laugh-a-minute star who simply carries the show with her jokes and sketches, sometimes living up to her cheeky reputation as the 'Dirty Wee Boy'.

If you think The Krankies are just an act from the past, forget it. In these days of so-called alternative comedy they are a breath of fresh air, and two scenes where Janette comes on stage in black wig and shades as Ozzy Osbourne - expletives bleeped out - then as a mini Susan Boyle, singing I Dreamed a Dream, are quite brilliant.

Ian, as Baron Hardup, plays his part, too, as the straight man of the pair and joins his better half in a very funny sketch with a bunch of ghosts.

Former X Factor semi-finalist Niki Evans is a confident Fairy Godmother with a Black Country accent, and a spectacular new twist to the scene where she creates a coach from a pumpkin sees a winged Pegasus fly above stage taking Cinderella (Danielle York) to the glitzy ball.

Ben Stock and Nathan Kiley impress as the Ugly Sisters with an amazing wardrobe of colourful costumes to die for... or die from! Neighbours star Stefan Dennis is Dandini, unusually cast as the panto villain, with Nic Greenshields playing Prince Charming. Even the insurance dog, Churchill, turns up

At times the orchestra, directed by David Lane, is a little too powerful, but Wee Janette is the 'big noise' that matters.

- Paul Marston

Ugly truth of how to prepare for sisters role

:: This video originally appeared on the Express & Star website on 16th December 2009 ::

From the bright, red lipstick to the ghastly frocks, Ben Stock and Nathan Kiley definitely look the part as the ghastly Ugly Sisters in this year’s pantomime Cinderella at Wolverhampton’s Grand Theatre.

But it’s not such a simple task to look this bad and appear, well, ugly.

The pair, who play Trinny and Susannah in the family show, have to painstakingly apply their own make-up for every show, and it’s not an easy task – especially since they were given no training.

Ben said: “No-one showed us how to apply the make-up we just made it up at home,” he said. “It took a lot of practice.” To transform into the show’s baddies, Ben and Nathan have to use wax on their eyebrows, apply very heavy eye make-up and add on the customary beauty spot to their faces.

And they have up to six costume changes for one show, which includes changing into different tights, shoes, dresses and wigs – not so easy if you happen to be a couple of blokes. Nathan added: “We went make-up shopping with a friend which was quite comical.

“We also have outrageous outfits and vulgar colours for our eyes.”

They have to don ghastly dresses and totter around the stage in high heels.

A fractured finger makes the process even harder for Ben, who also sprained his ankle two weeks ago.

“The show must go on,” he added.

Go and see Cinderella - you'll have a ball!

:: This review originally appeared in the Wolverhampton Chronicle on 14th December 2009 ::

COMEDY duo The Krankies round-off their hat-trick of Grand pantos with the best yet, a version of Cinderella that's full of cheeky humour and top tunes.

The fandabidozi duo, as Baron Hardup and Buttons, are the nation's top panto pros and their naughty-but-nice humour had the kids in stitches - and the parents too when 'Wee Jimmy' did his impressions of Susan Boyle and Ozzy Osbourne.

And this panto has got the X-Factor... excellent singers in Tamworth's former X-Factor semi finalist Niki Evans as the Fairy Godmother and former West End Phantom of the Opera Nic Greenshields as Prince Charming. Tunes range from a song from Hairspray (next summer's Grand blockbuster) to Abba and Hannah Montana numbers.

Cinderella has got the wow factor too, getting 'oohs' and 'aahs' from the audience at the end of the first act with a flying horse and carriage, similar to the impressive flying car effect in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, the Grand's big show last summer.

Every panto needs some hissable villains and it gets them with Ugly Sisters 'Trinny and Susannah' (Ben Stock and Nathan Kiley), dragged up to the nines in a series of bizarre dresses that deserve their place in the Victoria and Albert Museum. We get an extra villain with Dandini, usually the Prince's best mate, turned into a scheming would-be usurper via some plot hokum which allowed Neighbours actor Stefan Dennis to chew the scenery in true over-the-top panto villain style.

Add a demure blonde Cinders (Danielle York) with a pleasant singing voice, some enthusiastic dancers and cute kids, plus a brief cameo by flavour-of-the-season Churchill (oh yes, that TV advert dog) and you get a panto that's designed to please and doesn't disappoint.

Go and see Cinderella, you'll have a ball! It's on at the Grand until January 31.

- Leon Burakowski

I try on all my clothes but end up in the original outfit

:: This interview originally appeared in the Express & Star on 11th December 2009 ::

Niki Evans made it to the semi-final of X Factor in 2007. She has since appeared in West End show Blood Brothers. This month she appears in Wolverhampton's panto.

It's Friday afternoon. What's on your mind?

Most weekends I work so I'm usually trying to sort the kids out and get to the gig. But if I'm at home, I love going to the movies so I will be looking at what's on.

Who normally has the pleasure of your company at the weekend?

My lovely family - my husband Darren, my two sons Morgan and Jonah, my two dogs, my three rabbits... and a partridge in a pear tree!

How do you prepare for a big night out?

Well, that starts around 11am with a bottle of wine! Then it will go into a pampering session with nails, makeup and hair. I call the girls to see what they are wearing, have some more wine, then there's the last minute frenzy of the trying on of all the clothes, throwing them all over the place, putting back on what I started with, followed by more wine and then the last minute dash. I'm always late because I go through the whole 'I'm not going out because I'm too fat/ugly/nothing fits etc. etc.'! So, there's a bit more wine and then the party finally starts.

What's your favourite party outfit?

I don't have one really because I normally buy something new! But I do love my jeans.

You've just arrived at the bar. What's your first drink?

I'm a bit of a Jack Daniels girl - I even put 'Jack Daniels' down as my 'best friend' on the X Factor application form, so it would be double JD and diet Coke. You might as well start as I mean to go on!

What's your favourite nightspot and why?

When I did go out and party I never had a favourite place, it was just where I ended up. Really the only place I went to every time without fail was the chippy! When you get up the next day covered in last night's takeaway you know you've had a good night!

What tune always gets you on the dance floor?

Oh, that's an easy one - it's Livin' On A Prayer by Bon Jovi. It's my anthem, they play it wherever I go. I love rock music so anything with a dirty guitar always has an effect on me.

It's a sunny Saturday. What are you up to?

I love Cornwall so I'd be on Crantock beach with a BBQ, a bottle of wine, some music and my family and friends, watching the sun go down - perfection.

What's your most memorable weekend ever and why?

My most memorable weekend was going to Center Parcs for my 30th birthday - it was a complete surprise for me.

What's the recipe for a perfect night in?

Cooking a nice meal for all my boys, getting a good film in or playing a board game, generally having a laugh with the kids, and then having an early night for once.

What is your favourite DVD? And what would you eat whilst watching it on a night in?

The film I watch very much depends on what mood I am in - as we all know, women have a lot of ups and downs. My favourite munch is always salt & vinegar crisps.

Sunday lunch - home-cooked or down the pub?

Home all the way. I was a chef and my husband cooks a mean dinner. Also, my son wants to be a chef so we all love cooking.

Where and how do you like to relax?

I'm a right lazy thing so I stay in bed and read a book. I love reading and my bed is my most favourite place in the world.

Fan-dabi-dozi act is still going strong

:: This article originally appeared in the Express & Star on 11th December 2009 ::

Husband and wife act The Krankies are making a welcome return to the stage at the Grand Theatre.

With it being their third year in Wolverhampton, there's not much you can tell The Krankies about the city that they don't already know. In fact, they have become such a regular feature of the city's festive celebrations, they are now given personal invitations to join in the annual Christmas bash held by former Beatties workers and chat with them as though they are old friends.

It may be the fact that Janette - who will be taking on the role of Buttons in this year's production of Cinderella at the Grand Theatre - often tells them it is the store in which she spends most of her time when she's not on stage.

Far from being nervous about their latest outing in Wolverhampton, the Glasweigan couple have no doubts that they will receive anything less than a warm welcome from the pantomime audience in their adopted home city.

"We do the work we want to do so we get to pick and choose," said Janette, who stands at 4ft 5ins and has appeared on stages across the world with her husband for 40 years. "Wolverhampton seems to like us, so we enjoy coming to work here. The reception is always very good. It's an old town so you get a lot of character in the audience. I think the Black Country is good for atmosphere."

It all started for The Krankies when the husband and wife double act won 1978 Club Act of the Year. They were spotted by the late Lord Delfont who immediately signed them to appear at the London Palladium in the 1979 Royal Variety Show. By Royal Command, The Krankies were the stars of the first Children's Royal Variety Show and seven further Royal performances followed, in front of the Queen Mother, Prince Phillip, Princess Royal, Princess Margaret and the Prince and Princess of Wales.

The Krankies semi-retired in 1991 after years of TV appearances but are still active on the pantomime circuit and insist that they will continue performing "until people stop laughing."

In 2004, Janette was seriously injured when she fell 20ft from a giant beanstalk during the Christmas panto Jack and the Beanstalk in Glasgow. But, even when faced with such a trauma, she joked that "hospital staff didn't know whether to take me to the children's or geriatrics ward." And she has now battled back to full health to retain her crown as the country's pantomime queen.

Janette and her husband Ian, both aged 62, live in Torquay, Devon, and will be staying in a rented barn conversion in Chesterton in between their performances in Wolverhampton.

"We've had a terrible summer in Torquay. We call it the Wet Country instead of the West Country because it rained all summer," says Jeanette. "Chesterton is about eight miles away. We stay there because we don't like to be in hotels for eight weeks. They're noisy around this time of year."

Ian, who is playing Cinderella's father The Baron, said: "We've always liked the Black Country, since the late 60s and 70s. It's got character because people have lived here for centuries. Our accents are different, but the humour here is very similar to Glasweigans' humour. We laugh at the same things. We're always made welcome. The Grand is a great theatre. I'm looking forward to the show."

Stars are poised to make a fairytale dream come true

:: This article originally appeared in the Express & Star on 11th December 2009 ::

It seems like only yesterday that the curtain came down on pantomime season in Wolverhampton. But now the pantomime dames are back in the city and ready to put on another magical show - oh, yes they are!

With its bright costumes, special effects and larger-than-life characters all eagerly awaiting the Grand Theatre stage, the curtain is now going up on Wolverhampton's 2009 pantomime, officially signalling the countdown to Christmas in the city.

From tomorrow, hundreds of families will flock to the theatre to watch this year's hotly-anticipated show, Cinderella.

The Grand Theatre stage is this year being graced by Neighbours star Stefan Dennis alongside panto favourites The Krankies. The show will be given a sprinkling of fairy dust from former X Factor star Niki Evans, who is taking on the role of the Fairy Godmother.

The cast will also include guest star Churchill, the icon of the insurance industry, in his very first stage appearance.

Stefan Dennis, well known for his role as Paul Robinson in the Australian soap, will play Dandini in this year's hotly-anticipated pantomime. He joined the original cast of Neighbours in 1985 and played Paul until 1992. He was invited to rejoin Neighbours for the 20th anniversary of the show and has remained a regular character ever since. He has also appeared in UK television shows including Dream Team, River City, The Bill and Casualty, as well as numerous musicals including Blood Brothers.

Singer-come-actress Niki Evans shot to fame on hit TV talent show The X Factor, finishing fourth in the 2007 series. She has since gone on to perform with John Barrowman at Birmingham's Symphony Hall, and in Jasper Carrott's Christmas Rock With Laughter at the NEC. She has made countless appearances on TV, including LK Today and ITV's This Morning, and has also spent a year in the West End as Mrs Johnstone in Blood Brothers.

Panto favourites The Krankies will be taking to the stage in Wolverhampton's pantomime for the third year in a row, appearing as The Baron and Buttons.