Cinderella A Derby Theatre Production 2023

 

Áine O’Neill-Mason as Gab (Cinderella) and Jason Yeboa (Micah)

at Derby Theatre 2023
Photography Graeme Braidwood

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Annie Siddons' quality writing has provided a solid foundation for this excellent show. She has taken the bare bones of the original theme/characters and created a completely new version of Cinderella. The production team at Derby Theatre has made some excellent decisions and this is demonstrated in the direction, staging and set design, but mostly in the casting of Áine O’Neill-Mason as Gab (Cinderella) along with seven impressive and versatile professional actors/musicians and also a group of young performers that make up the ensemble.

Pictured left to right Roxana Bartle, Áine O’Neill-Mason, Nicholas Shaw,
Shelley Atkinson and Charlotte Rutherford
Cinderella A Derby Theatre Production
Photograph Graeme Braidwood

Gab is at one roaming the pastoral valley and peaks of Derbyshire, her two step sisters are as different as chalk and cheese, Ottilie (Charlotte Rutherford) is a Goth girl, with a shaggy pink bob and heavy eye liner and a fit and flare dress of black lace with a tight boddice who has a fixation for weirdness, morbid pursuits and Ravens, whereas Lavinia (Roxana Bartle) has more of the entitled, self-centred, suitor searching character of the two and turns out to be the villain. Lavinia is more closely linked with her mother, Adelaide, played by Shelley Atkinson, who is an extremely funny performer; very Julie Walters-esque in many ways.

Jason Yeboa , Purvi Parmar, Actor and Musician - Nicholas Shaw and
Áine O’Neill-Mason
cast members of Cinderella at Derby Theatre 
Photography Graeme Braidwood

The inclusion of the North Derbyshire's regional dialogue and references really resonated and this Cinderella has elements of magic and enchantment that young children will welcome and look for in the storytelling, however there is no Disney signature in this play. 

Eventually, the mystical elements aids the coming together of the fiesty protanganist Gab and the young railway industrialist, Micah, but also adds to misunderstanding and confusion along the way, all of which allows scope for comedy to befall. The play's content and conclusion will please an audience consisting of persons of school age to old age any day of the week.

Purvi Parmar (Dorcus) 
Roxana Bartle playing cello and Charlotte Rutherford playing violin
from Cinderella at Derby Theatre 2023
Photography Graeme Braidwood

This production includes folksy tradition represented in puppetry and song, accompanied by stringed instruments being played centre-stage and in the side lines by cast members along with percussion beats in wonderful harmony.

What a surprise this new version of the Cinderella story is!  This publication joins the full set of positive reviews of the Christmas play Cinderella at Derby Theatre until December 31st 2023.

Review by theatre critic, Debra Hall who attended the matinee performance of Cinderella at Derby Theatre on 13 December 2023 - 2.30pm

References

Braidwood, G. 

https://www.graemebraidwood.com/index

Derby Theatre Cinderella at Derby Theatre - a striking new version by Annie Siddons press release - 13 Nov 2023

Derby Theatre website

https://derbytheatre.co.uk/event/cinderella-2/

Siddons, A https://www.anniesiddons.co.uk/about/