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London Review
London ReviewCinderella
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Cinderella, my dear, you really are so ostentatiously humble— Stepmother
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Elizabeth Chan as Cinderella and Daniel Weyman as the Prince
(Photo: Helen Maybanks) |
Returning to the original Brothers Grimm story, but also incorporating elements of other traditional fairytales, such as Sanskrit, Iraqi and Chinese folk stories, this is an adaptation far removed from Disney. There is no fairy godmother or a carriage-turned-pumpkin but instead, we have a beautifully atmospheric tale endowed with genuine magic and emotion.
With frosty blue lighting and a forest of tall thin birches onstage, a curved staircase of white steps leads to an otherworldly-looking Norwegian orchestra. The instruments, manned by Terje Isungset, include an ice trombone and a mouth harp and make even more outlandish sounds which add to the icily unfamiliar Scandinavian atmosphere. A flock of paper doves inhabit and flit across the stage, some of which are expressive hand puppets and represent the protective custodianship of Cinderella's dead mother.
The exposition enjoys sharp writing and lively, inventive dramaturgy. The dialogue can be caustically witty and playfully knowing but this is achieved in restraint so that the emotional involvement or the hypnotic bubble are not undermined. So, for example, the Queen tells the heartbroken Prince: "You can't marry a shoe!".
The characterisation is less two-dimensional than many fairy tales, both written and acted with well-poised subtlety. Elizabeth Chan is a diminutive, innocent yet true Cinderella and Daniel Weyman her dashing Prince. The stepsisters, played by Katherine Manners and Kelly Williams are girlish, squealing and manipulative bullies rather than grotesque villains. Tim McMullan plays the father who fails to protect his daughter and Gráinne Byrne is the ruthlessly cold stepmother.
Moreover, there is a sense that storytelling is at the very heart of this fairy tale with back stories and proleptic dreams interwoven throughout the main narrative and creating the idea that the action is placed within the enchanting realm of stories. The cast of just six work energetically to fashion these multi-layered stories. When a humble shepherd is needed, for example, the rest of the cast immediately transform into his sheep, or during a boar hunt, the fearsome, giant beast is created by any spare actors onstage. This clever ingenuity extends throughout the evening so royal or posthumous characters pose in empty picture frames, there are blizzards of white sheets and flying snow and, during the ball to seek the Prince a wife, the cast is enlarged by mannequin women before the audience stream out at the interval to join the royal event, mingling with the characters in their finery.
There is also a fair amount of violence and gruesomeness. This nicely adds to the darkly textured, un-whitewashed portrayal of this story which has much inherent cruelty but also renders the show unsuitable for children under seven or extremely squeamish adults. So, for instance, the kindly doves turn into avengers and pluck out the eyes of certain offending characters and the stepsisters' feet are bloodily mutilated to fit into Cinderella's shoe and steal her groom.
This may be an alternative Christmas show, but it is probably also one of the finest. Returning to traditional myths and fairytales, this utterly captivating production hits the right note throughout with sincerity, humour and resourcefulness.
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Cinderella
Retold by Ben Power and Melly Still Directed by Melly Still With: Elizabeth Chan, Daniel Weyman, Tim McMullan, Gráinne Byrne, Katherine Manners, Kelly Williams Designer: Sophia Clist Composer: Terje Isungset Lighting Designer: Natasha Chivers Sound Designer: Nick Manning Running time: Two hours with one interval Box Office: 0871 22 117 29 Booking to 3 January 2009 A Lyric Hammersmith and Warwick Arts Centre Co-Production Reviewed by Charlotte Loveridge based on 5th December 2008 performance at the Lyric Hammersmith, Lyric Square, King St, London W6 0QL (Tube: Hammersmith) |
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