Theatre News

Bourne Revisits Blitz Cinderella at Sadler’s Wells

| London | London's West End |

2 June 2010

The autumn season at Sadler’s Wells will culminate in a “completely revised” production of Matthew Bourne’s Cinderella – first seen in the West End back in 1997.

The production, which runs from 30 November 2010 to 23 January 2011, is timed to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the London Blitz. It features designs by Lez Brotherston (who won an Olivier Award for the original staging), new lighting by Neil Austin and will be performed in ‘surround sound’, designed by Paul Groothius.

Bourne’s interpretation of Prokofiev’s score has at its heart a wartime romance. A chance meeting results in a magical night for Cinderella and her dashing young RAF pilot, together just long enough to fall in love before being parted by the horrors of the Blitz.

According to press material: “Featuring a specially commissioned new recording of the score, New Adventures will create a cinematic experience, taking the audience into the heart of Prokofiev’s magnificent music and the sound world of war-torn London.”

The autumn season opens with, as previously announced, the world premiere of Shoes, the first large scale production written by Richard Thomas since Jerry Springer – The Opera, and directed by award-winning choreographer Stephen Mear.

The new season will also feature work by visiting companies including Alvin Ailey, Pina Bausch’s Tanztheater Wuppertal, Rosas and American Ballet Theatre alongside UK artists Jonathan Burrows and Rosemary Butcher.

In October, Pina Bausch’s company will perform her momentous work Iphigenie auf Tauris for the first time in London, in tribute to the late choreographer.

Sadler’s Wells will also present new works by associate artists including: Russell Maliphant (AfterLight), Akram Khan (Vertical Road), Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui (Southern Bound Comfort), Wayne McGregor (FAR) and Jasmin Vardimon (7734).

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