Team Cinderella: L-R James Van Aardt, Emily Vinnicombe, Jennifer Zia, Felicity Bulbulia, Tristan Jackson-Pate
Rehearsals are underway at Nottingham Playhouse for this year's Christmas production of Cinderella and we're having a wonderful time bringing this familiar story to life in a fresh and exciting way.
I've been having a brilliant time working with Katie Arnstein's script, alongside some incredibly catchy songs by Jude Taylor. There's already some beautiful puppetry taking shape in the room, created by the brilliant Connie Burley and we've been exploring some lovely movement work with Lucy Glassbrook. At the centre of it all are two wonderful performers, Jennifer Zia and Emily Vinnicombe, who are bringing so much warmth, energy and personality to the characters.
This is a Cinderella full of magic, mischief and wonder, but it's also a story with something important to say. At its heart, this is a story about sisterhood: about the expectations placed on young women, the labels that can be attached to us and the ways we can help each other to shed them.
Rather than seeing the story simply as a tale of one person overcoming adversity to find their happy ending, we're interested in what happens when people support one another, challenge the expectations placed upon them and discover that they are stronger together. It's a feminist take on a much-loved fairytale, celebrating the power of solidarity, kindness and looking beyond the labels others give us.
It's been a real joy seeing all these different elements come together in the rehearsal room and I can't wait to share what we've been making with Nottingham audiences this Christmas.
The creative team:
Katie Arnstein (Writer: book and lyrics), Jude Taylor (Composer: music and lyrics / Musical Director), Michelle Cave (Set and Costume Designer), Lucy Glassbrook (Movement Director), Connie Burley (Puppetry Director), Sam Osbourne (Lighting Designer), Matt Powell (Creative Captions Designer), Jack Hudson (Producer), Leila Glen (Production Manager), Patricia Davenport (Company Stage Manager), Felicity Bulbulia (Stage Manager) and James Van Aardt (Creative Captions Operator).
