Cinderella: A Fairytale
From: Wednesday, 12th December 2012
To: Saturday, 26 January 2013
Our Review: 
Your Reviews:
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Synopsis
A brand new version of one of the oldest, best loved fairytales of all time. When a rich man s wife dies, his daughter Ella mourns her beloved mother with a grief as deep as the snow on her grave. Before the spring sun has time to melt it, her father takes a second wife and their peaceful life is taken over by a host of new and unpleasant relations. Her only friends are the woodland birds who roost in the tree that grows over the grave, but they are no ordinary birds... With their quirky visual style, crystal-clear storytelling, original live music and pitch-perfect ensemble acting, director Sally Cookson and team bring this classic tale of fortunes reversed startlingly and imaginatively to life. Age recommendation 6+
Our Review:
Michael Coveney - 24 December 2012
Cut out birds, wooden trees, five actors, two musicians, pink tutus and Doc Martens: this Cinderella is the opposite of a big splashy pantomime. But it has oodles of charm and is beguilingly performed, if a little slow to involve the audience.
More based on the Brothers Grimm than the French version with the fur, or glass, slipper (Adam Peck is listed as dramaturg), Sally Cookson's production for Travelling Light, first seen last year at the Bristol Tobacco Factory, uses bird sound to bring together unhappy Ella – banished to the hearth, with the cinders, by her horrid stepmother – and a goofy ornithologist who is not what he seems.
They are both a-twitter, if not on Twitter, and when Ella is deprived of her invitation to the palace ball, she gets the birds to help her repair the pile of socks and broken crockery she's been lumbered with. In Grimm, it's the grain in the cinders they help isolate, but birds sewing socks in a magical ...
Latest User Review
Jimmie Pullin - 11 January 2013:
The overall design felt Scandinavian so I persuaded myself this re-versioning was Ibsen-esque rather than influenced by Brothers Grimm [director’s notes] of central-south Germany. However the nasty step mother (Mr Craig Edwards) was quite believable as being from Germanic folklore. The rest of the minimalist cast of five and two musicians handle their multiple changes well and create their individual empathy for the various roles. The Chinese lanterns, last seen motorised at The Landor in Hot Mikado, seemed out of place until the Queen’s ball - perhaps I missed the point. A few gag opportunities were missed since St. James is within spitting distance of the real Palace, and with birds being plot-pivotal not a single reference to twitchers. As Mr Coveney says ‘slow to involve the audience’ but by the end of Act 1 it picks up and you’re hooked through to the end; so hang-on-in. The meat cleaver fun was all too realistic but probably only the adults had nightmares, the plate smashing routine sent a few splinters flying but not into anyone’s eyes or bodies on this occasion. This is the third time in recent weeks I’ve witnessed the unintentional scattering of broken glass and porcelain (Union & Arcola December 2012), wake up Theatreland some H&S matters are non-negotiable. If you haven’t visited the all new and gorgeous St James theatre give it try, no matter where you sit the experience is excellent so splash out on a budget £25 seat to start with. ...
Creative
St James Theatre Productions (Producer)
Tobacco Factory Theatre (Producer)
Travelling Light (Producer)
Sally Cookson (Director)
Katie Sykes (Design)
Matt Graham (Lighting)
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