THE traditional tale of Cinderella is given a 21st-century makeover in Abingdon Drama Club’s annual pantomime.

Nothing is going right for teenagers Ella and Prince Adam in Fairyland in 2014 as their modern views and hopes bring them into conflict with their more traditional parents. However, a happy ending is eventually conjured out of all the magic and mischief, although it remains to be seen if it is it what they actually want. The seasonal show, which is being performed at the Unicorn Theatre, Abingdon, later this month has been penned by Liz Adams, who developed it with help from an Oxford Playhouse playwriting weekend.

Amber Wyatt heads the cast as Ella, opposite Harry Naylor as the charming Prince Adam. Amber has previously appeared in numerous ADC Juniors’ productions, including playing the part of Wendy in Peter Pan and Mother Theresa in The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, while Harry was last seen on stage in ADC’s William Tell play. He recently provided the voice of Egill’s nephew for the animated film Egill: The Last Pagan.

The leading pair, who both study locally, are joined by Hayley Jones as the lovelorn Buttons. More usually found treading the boards at the University of Southampton, Hayley has joined ADC’s ranks while she is in town on her industrial placement year.

Making up the cast are club members old and new as royalty, unruly relatives, mischievous mice, a dodgy dog, a cool cat, a reluctant reptile, a hypochondriac rat and a fairy godmother with a highly unusual sideline.

As well as penning the show, Liz is also directing the action. It’s her eighth show as director for ADC, with her most recent full-length productions being Rhinoceros and Kindertransport.

She said: “I’d had in mind for a while that I would like to write and direct my own version of Cinderella – a classic, glamorous tale with a hugely popular heroine.” She first wrote for the club last year, creating Drift, a part-devised, part-scripted piece of physical theatre featuring science, sleep and talking snowmen, which was performed at the Unicorn Theatre in January this year.

“Following on from this, I decided to try my hand at a full-length show, bringing me back to Cinderella,” she said.

Liz added: “I’m extremely pleased to have a number of young people in the cast – six teenagers and one university student – out of a total cast of 17. “They are in a range of roles large and small, including the lead. I was keen to put the younger characters at the heart of the show and am very pleased to have been able to cast talented actors of appropriate ages.”

The production design for the show is by Michael Ward.

Liz added: “With 17 actors plus set to fit on to the tiny stage at the Unicorn Theatre, there are plenty of challenges – not to mention the need to transform mice into horses, a pumpkin into a coach and Ella’s everyday outfit into a fabulous ball dress.

“There’ll be a strong audio-visual element to the show, so it’s not just the plotline that sits firmly in the 21st century.”

Families and other theatre-goers have the chance to enjoy eight performances on Friday, January 17, at 7.30pm; Saturday, January 18 at 2.30pm and 7.30pm; Sunday, January 19, at 2.30pm; Thursday, January 23, at 7.30pm; Friday, January 24, at 7.30pm; Saturday, January 25, at 2.30pm and 7.30pm.

Tickets are £10 and £7 concessions for children 12 and under, those aged 60 and over and ADC members, and family tickets for two adults and two children or one adult and three children are also available at £30. Tickets are available from The Bookstore, Abingdon. For group bookings of ten and over, all tickets are £7 or £7.25 if booked online.

For more information, email: tickets@unicornboxoffice.org.uk or call 0845 4636638.