Ending their tour of the festive favourite Cinders! at Newcastle Theatre Royal, The Scottish Ballet cast a spell on Newcastle audiences.
The Scottish Ballets rendition of Cinders! follows the classic plot of Cinderella with tweaks and a few twists to keep audiences on their toes.
Choreographed by Christopher Hampson the Scottish Ballet flip the well-known tale depending on the evening, audiences will either see Cinders as a woman, swept off her feet by her Prince, and on others, Cinders will be a man, swept off his feet by his Princess.
On its opening night at Newcastle Theatre Royal, Cinders was a woman, danced by Gina Scott.
The tale begins with a young child, jovial and comforted by the love of her mother and father in their family business which is bustling with life and customers.
Then their dreams are shattered in one fateful evening where a fire leaves the child orphaned, as the only survivor found in the ashes – she becomes Cinders.
Changes in the backstory see the evil stepmother replaced by an intimidating and garish businesswoman who has taken over Cinders once classy and small family business and turned it into an outlet full of tasteless furs and feathers.
The Fairy Godmother is also replaced in this tale by Cinders mother and father who reappear as acquisitions in a both eerie reminder of her orphanhood and heartfelt reminder of how her story began, this was an emotional adaptation of the original.
The story telling through movement and music- of a classic tale we all know so well was impeccable.
The Newcastle audience was enthralled by the mesmerising performances of Gina Scott as Cinders and Jerome Barnes as Prince Louis and the crowd certainly enjoyed the slapstick humour and attitude that radiated from Aisling Brangan, Grace Horler, Alice Kawalek and Thomas Edwards as the Thornes.
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I take my hat off to Elin Steele for the Edwardian-esque set designs and costumes which were exquisite. Capturing the luxury of the Prince Louis and the palace with deep purples, gold and bronze and light fabrics and sparkle for Cinders, as well as bright and offensive hot pinks and garish furs for the villain Mrs Thorne and her children.
Accompanied by the Scottish Ballet Orchestra the symphonies were faultless, and their talent was spellbinding as they performed Prokofiev’s impeccable score.
Overall Cinders! is a fantastic and poignant adaptation by the Scottish Ballet and incredible performances from the dancers and orchestra.
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