Cinderella, Birmingham Royal Ballet and Royal Ballet Symphonia, Birmingham Hippodrome, 19 February 2025. Then on tour, 4☆☆☆☆. Review: David Gray & Paul Gray.

Photo Credit: Roy Smiljanic.

Cinderella, Birmingham Royal Ballet and Royal Ballet Symphonia, Birmingham Hippodrome, 19 February 2025. Then on tour,

4☆☆☆☆. Review: David Gray & Paul Gray.

“A triumphant revival of a lavish production.”

A shoe lies at the heart of the Cinderella story. And shoes have an iconic significance in ballet. So, it is understandable that a ballet based on this fairytale might explore ways in which these two significances might be mutually explored to develop a resonant and richly layered narrative.

In Act I, the barefoot Cinderella is bullied and belittled by her stepsisters. Shod in point shoes, symbols of their higher status, they tower over their victim. Their movements are more formal and stylised. Cinderella’s are more fluid and authentic. Their ‘on point’ status enables them to attempt an entry to courtly life. The sisters’ attempts to learn from a dance-master the necessary moves for this transition are, however, ridiculous and clumsy.

Cinderella does have shoes. These represent her lost status. She cannot be seen to wear them and must keep them a hidden secret. She puts them on and dreams of entering another more elevated world. Following a radical glow-up from her Fairy Godmother, she is able to enter this other world and go to the ball - and in point shoes. She proves adept at moving in the elegant, courtly, stylised world as a result of her inner nobility. Her Stepsisters fail abysmally.

The clock strikes midnight, and Cinderella must return to her barefoot existence with its more emotionally expressive, less formal choreography. Then, after she is discovered to be the mystery guest at the ball - and thus the Prince’s beloved - she is able to publicly dance in her own flat shoes, and then on point. In doing so, she integrates the two Cinderellas she has inhabited over the course of the ballet; one emotionally authentic and one authentically noble.

Yu Kurihara shines in the complex role of Cinderella, perfectly inhabiting the two worlds, and the two dance styles between which she moves. Kurihara captures the interplay of strength and vulnerability at the heart of the role and brings a luminescent quality.

The Prince is a less complex role. He exists firmly in the courtly, stylised world. A dominant presence, Lachlan Monaghan bring power and dynamism. His physicality enables him to power through his sweeping, expansive choreography with style and elegance. The moments when the two lead characters dance together are perfectly choreographed to match the surging emotional energy of Prokofiev’s score. They have great charisma together.

Other dancers provide staunch support. Eilis Small and Olivia Chang Clarke both clearly have funny-bones and are hilariously awful as the Stepsisters: ghastly, tasteless arrivistes; the type of people who might think it classy to have a gold-plated toilet.

In the First Act there were some teething problems in the orchestral pit. Here, Prokofiev’s music is busy and fussy, with lost of changes of mood and direction. This wrong-foots the band now and again, particularly the strings. However, things settle down in the more structurally stable music of the Second Act.

The show continues to dazzle visually: a design triumph which shows-off the whole company at its very best, and with some lavishly complex ensemble dances.

Cast

Cinderella – Yu Kurihara

The Prince – Lachlan Monaghan

Cinderella’s Stepsisters – Eilis Small/Olivia Chang Clarke

Cinderella’s Stepmother – Daria Stanciulescu

The Fairy Godmother – Tori Forsyth-Hecken

For full cast and future performances see the following link:

https://www.brb.org.uk/downloadable-castsheets

Creatives

Music – Sergei Prokofiev

Choreography – David Bintley

Designs – John Macfarlane

Lighting – David Finn

Conductor – Paul Murphy