Cinderella was based on the book written by Emerald Fennell; it is very contemporary and mature. Nothing like the Disney version. It was fresh and I feel it was relevant with the audience. It was so refreshing to watch something that wasn’t stereotypical, in fact it was coming away from that. In the original Cinderella it was very clear who was evil and who was good. In this version Cinderella is bold, different and rebels against everyone because she isn’t accepted for who she is and the stepsisters are the way they are as they were raised that way. They didn’t have good role modelling. The prince is unwanted because his older brother is “prince charming” and was loved by everyone because he was masculine and seen as perfect where as the prince is none of those things. A powerful message is that although the prince is not seen as masculine, it makes you question what that means and that masculine may not be just about “alpha, physically fit and being a Man’s Man”. Maybe there is more than just toxic masculinity.
What I preferred about this Cinderella, was that she wasn’t noticed when she was dressed up. The prince liked her the way she was She was noticed just how she was, there was no need for any magic, fairy godmother or a white carriage. A strength of this musical is that it is a play built around acceptance and you being good enough just as you are.
The set design was incredible. It was contemporary and set the mood when needed. It changed to suit the scene. It took you through, with the script your emotions and there were a few surprises. At the start of the second act the stage and stalls moved clockwise, moving the stage “in the round “. It was breath taking and made you feel closer to the actors. You felt part of the performance. It was like you were at the ball.
The costumes were colourful and again relevant. It was something you felt you could easily see on Instagram or in London. It was current so again made it feel you could relate to the characters. The henchman or army of prince charming had very little on and was provoking but it made you uncomfortable which I think was its purpose. It was about toxic masculinity and how much this can be “in your face “. I too have picked up on the need to be masculine and feel its overcompensating. Its ok to be masculine but there is nothing wrong in being vulnerable and emotional. I felt Cinderella communicated this too.
The music and songs were awesome. I felt it freeing and it showed the characters stories and emotions. I feel it encouraged empathy for them and what I loved about this script is that it had everything. Tragedy, humour, love and acceptance.
If I was to say a weakness about this performance it would be that maybe on the advertising, to make it clear It had adult content. There were a few little children dressed in Disney Cinderella costumes and at moments, I was shocked, scared, happy and sad so I worried about the little children not understanding what this was about and maybe questioning “where is the blue dress?”
Wow Odin - what an eloquent and thoughtful review! You have really given us a taste for how this theatrical performance made you feel and impact it had on you. It was clearly very different from the classic Disney tale and intentionally so. It's great to see you have thought about how this show made you feel and how the different artistic elements, such as the costumes and the staging added to this performance. It sounds as if you would not recommend this event to young children, due to the controversial portrayal of some of the characters, however it sounds as though you would recommend this for an older audience who are open to questioning the status quo.
Thank you - what a brilliant review!