Full cast revealed for Cinderella at the Epstein Theatre this Christmas

Coronation Street’s Katie McGlynn, Liverpool favourite Leanne Campbell and TV’s Kevin Duala lead line-up of top talent.

Cinderella goes to the ball at Liverpool’s Epstein Theatre this Christmas and the full cast which will enchant family audiences was revealed this afternoon on stage at the Hanover Street venue.

Coronation Street star Katie McGlynn has already been announced as the fairytale heroine.

She is joined live on the Epstein stage by panto royalty Leanne Campbell, returning by popular demand, who will be waving her magic wand over the Regal Entertainments Ltd show as the Fairy Godmother.

And the One Show and BBC Radio Merseyside’s Kevin Duala will play Buttons.

They will appear in the greatest fairytale of them all alongside Conor Barrie as Dandini, Michael Nelson as the Prince, and Shania Pain and Brenda LaBeau who play Cinderella’s ugly stepsisters.

Cinderella runs from Friday, 5 December to Sunday, 4 January 2026 at the historic Grade II listed theatre.

Tickets, from £20, are on sale from www.epsteintheatre.com.

Beloved by generations as the greatest fairytale of them all, Regal Entertainments Ltd’s smash hit production of the classic tale promises marvellous magical moments along with spectacular costumes and set, brilliant choreography and a host of singalong tunes to get you up out of your seat.

Cinderella tells the story of a beautiful girl reduced to a life of servitude by her two ugly stepsisters.  But when an invitation arrives for a grand ball at the palace, it seems all that could be about to change. With a bit of magic, and help from her loyal friend Buttons, Cinderella is transformed into the belle of the ball. But what will happen when the clock strikes midnight?

Katie McGlynn is best known for playing Sinead Tinker in ITV’s Coronation Street, winning a National Television Award for best serial drama performance in 2020. She then went on to play Becky in Hollyoaks for Channel 4 and recently appeared as Georgina in Kay Mellor’s The Syndicate for BBC One.

She started her television career, aged 16, playing Gemma Gooch in Skies of Glass as part of Jimmy McGovern’s Moving On Series. And in 2021 she showed off her dancing skills competing for the glitter ball trophy on Strictly Come Dancing with professional partner Gorka Marquez.

On stage, Katie recently starred in Peter James’s hit touring production of Wish You Were Dead.

Meanwhile the panto’s Fairy Godmother Leanne Campbell needs no introduction to Liverpool panto audiences.

The actor and presenter started her acting career at the age of 10, with early roles including Annie at the Liverpool Playhouse and an award-winning performance as young Helen in the much-loved Twopence to Cross the Mersey. She went on to play many leading roles in musicals and plays including Me and My Girl, Carousel, The Sound of Music and Scrooge. She was also cast as Pam in ITV’s Children’s Ward.

In 2020 she wrote and starred in the successful comedy play Pete Price is Dead at Liverpool’s Royal Court, other recent productions include The Salon, The Salon the Sequel and Achy Breaky Bride. Her many high-profile panto appearances include five years at the Liverpool Empire and six consecutive years at the city’s M&S Bank arena.

Buttons is played by TV and West End star Kevin Duala who has more than three decades of broadcasting experience.

After nearly a decade of starring in Starlight Express, both in the West End and internationally, he went into TV – landing the plum role as host of the award-winning children’s show Blue Clues, becoming a household face across our screens.

He has presented a variety of other programmes on screen, starting with BBC1 investigative series Britain’s Secret Charity Cheats which exposed charity fraudsters as well as celebrating the great work charities do. He appeared alongside Angela Rippon in four series of BBC1 consumer programme Health – Truth or Scare, and recently finished presenting Tool Club on Channel 4, helping match would-be DIYers with experts to help improve their skills. His other work for Channel 4 includes Budding Wars and Moneybags.

Alongside this, for the past nine years Kevin has also been one of the main reporters for BBC Radio Merseyside, for which he recently won a prestigious ARIA Gold Award for Best Speech Breakfast Show.

Conor Barrie appears as Dandini. Liverpool Theatre School graduate Conor returns to the panto stage after playing the same role in Cinderella at St Helens Theatre Royal at Easter. His other pantomime credits include Baron von Vippermall in Goldilocks and the Three Bears and Gaston in Beauty and the Beast, both at St Helens Theatre Royal, and roles in Aladdin, Jack and the Beanstalk and Beauty and the Beast at the Gladstone Theatre in Port Sunlight. He also played Dmitri in The Salon – the Sequel! at St Helens.

The Prince is played by Michael Nelson. Mountview Academy-trained actor Michael’s stage credits include Henry in the UK tour of & Juliet, Eddie in Mamma Mia! in the West End and on the UK and International tour, Dirty Dancing (UK and International tour), An Evening of Dirty Dancing (UK tour), Our House (UK tour) and Maggie May (Finborough Theatre). His television appearances include the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee and the National Lottery’s Big Night of Musicals as part of the Mamma Mia cast and Kenickie in Grease the School Musical for Sky One.

And taking on the roles of the Ugly Sisters are two of the North West’s leading and hugely popular drag performers, Shania Pain and Brenda LaBeau.

Shania Pain has taken the cabaret scene by storm over the last eight years, performing at prestigious venues around the country and touring with Drag Race superstars such as Detox, Bianca Del Rio and the late the Vivienne. Shania headlined Manchester Pride in front of 11,000 people and enjoyed a stint in the West End appearing in Drag Queens of Pop at the Vaudeville Theatre. Before Shania’s conception they spent many years working for cruise ship companies.

Panto credits include Nursey Nightly in Snow White, Mrs Potter in Beauty and the Beast and Botoxia Hardup in Cinderella.

Meanwhile Brenda LaBeau has been a staple on the Liverpool drag scene for more than 15 years and has also travelled the country performing for hundreds of thousands of people and working with drag superstars including Divina DeCampo, Myra Dubois, La Voix and The Vivienne. Brenda was also on ITV’s X Factor and got to boot camp and performed at Wembley Arena. Last year they toured with the North West Adult Pantomime production of Snow White and the Seven Drag Queens.

This is Brenda’s first family pantomime.

Cinderella is directed by Chantelle Joseph, with choreography from Nazene Langfield. Musical supervisor is Callum Clarke.

The Christmas pantomime forms part of the historic venue’s inaugural autumn season after it reopened its doors earlier this year, and which features a busy programme of entertainment which reflects the theatre’s century-long role as the home of local talent, national touring productions, music, comedy and pantomime.

Chantelle Joseph of Regal Entertainments Ltd said: “I’m very excited to return to the Epstein Theatre this Christmas to spread some seasonal joy in the greatest fairytale of them all.

“I’m also thrilled our Cinderella has such a stellar cast of talented performers, led by Katie McGlynn, Leanne Campbell and Kevin Duala, and I can’t wait to get into the rehearsal room now to create a truly magical show for Liverpool family audiences in the wonderful and atmospheric Epstein auditorium.”

For more details visit the Epstein Theatre website www.epsteintheatre.com