He’s Behind You! serves up the full cast for their big gay adult panto Cinderella: Buttons Undone!

He’s Behind You! serves up the full cast for their big gay adult panto Cinderella: Buttons Undone!

Award-winning panto pioneers He’s Behind You! (Special Recognition Award, 2025’s UK Pantomime Awards) announce a cast fit for the ball and ready to serve in Cinderella: Buttons Undone!. Returning to Charing Cross Theatre to give Cinderella a gloriously filthy makeover, this gay, adults-only pantomime swaps royal courts for tennis courts to reimagine the romantic rag-to-riches tale with original songs, biting humour and mistaken identities.

The unmatched festive duo of acclaimed He’s Behind You! favourites Matthew Baldwin and Chris Lane play Mercedes and Bentley, awful stepsiblings to hotel maid Cindy, played by Laura Anna-Mead (Some Mothers Do ’Ave ’Em, Barn Theatre) who returns to the company after last year’s smash-hit Beauty and the Beast: A Horny Love Story. As they all long for escape from their crumbling hotel and unsavoury family reputation, Cindy’s gay and only friend Buttons, played by last year’s principal boy Matt Kennedy (Mamma Mia; We Will Rock You, West End; River City, BBC), have their own ideas of romance that threaten to send this fairytale off court.

Everything is to play for in the faded seaside resort of Lob-on-Sea, where Cindy’s gangster stepmother Ida Bigschitt, played by Catherine Millsom (Kinky Boots, West End; Sister Act, Hammersmith Apollo, UK Tour), returns from prison to make life miserable for all the siblings. Meanwhile, tennis champion Ivan Yassandvich, Cinderella’s not-quite-Prince Charming played by Bartek Kraszewski (Ride the Cyclone, Southwark Playhouse), is on the hunt for a bride to settle down with. But when romance and matchmaking collide, it’s game, set and chaos.

Joining the cast, Dermot Canavan (Elf the Musical, West End; Hairspray, West End, UK tour) takes on the role of Ivan Yassandvich’s father, Lev – the Smellarussian minister for sport and women’s affairs – while Arianna Duffus (Tina Turner The Musical: Original West End Cast) brings a new spin to the fairy godmother as Mystic Mandi. He’s Behind You! alumni Jordan Stamatiadis and Fin Walton complete the cast.

Co-written by Jon Bradfield (Animal, Park Theatre, Hope Mill Theatre; Queers, BBC) and Martin Hooper (Ghosted, The Other Palace, Norwich Playhouse), and featuring original songs by Bradfield, this obnoxiously gay extravaganza is directed by Andrew Beckett (Dr Seuss’ Cat in the Hat, UK and International tour; Come Dine with Me: the Musical, Underbelly, Norwich Playhouse) with musical direction and orchestrations by Aaron Clingham and choreography by Carole Todd, whose extensive panto career includes directing Lily Savage in Snow White.

Journeying from the musty sea-view rooms of the Royal Palace B&B to lavish ballroom splendour, Cinderella: Buttons Undone! is brought to life with set design by award-winning David Shields (Heathers The Musical; 2026 Offie Award and Fringe Theatre Award winner for Beauty and the Beast: A Horny Love Story); costumes by Robert Draper; lighting by Matt Hockley; sound by Andrew Johnson; and is produced by Oli Sones for He’s Behind You!

As He’s Behind You! puts its stamp on another classic, this festive farce of gangsters, disguises and romantic confusion promises an imaginative, outrageously riotous evening for adults.

Matthew Baldwin comments, For me this is like being invited to the best party ever, with all your funniest friends and a few new people to surprise and delight you. Rather like some of our audience we love an intake of fresh DNA for our saucy winter fun and this year we are joined by some sparkling new talents. Some might see Mercedes as part of a comic tradition of deliciously deluded snobs but to me, she’s a gorgeous grafter who refuses to settle. I like to work from the outside in, so I’ll be starting with the tits and wig and see where it takes me.