English National Ballet: Cinderella at the Royal Albert Hall

How classically should a classic tale be handled by a creative nowadays? It’s a tricky balance to strike when a polarised populace decry sticking and twisting in equal measure. Christopher Wheeldon and English National Ballet’s production of Cinderella, running at the Royal Albert Hall until 25^th June, is an admirable and amply budgeted effort to navigate this narrow strait. The setting and costumes are all too familiar, but some of the characters are a touch augmented from their norms: the step-sisters are ugly merely in spirit (if that) and the prince is more than just a handsome chap who falls for masked individuals who leave a shoe behind. The work also opens mournfully with the death of Cinderella’s mother, referring to the haunting Brothers Grimm version of the tale. Likewise, the fairy godmother is replaced with four eerie “fates” who run proceedings from within the narrative, beautifully choreographed and operating on another plane.

It’s huge. The cast, the set, the stage are all positively whopping. Adapted from Wheeldon’s initial traditional face-on presentation of the work, this run dazzles from an (almost) in-the-round perspective, with every inch of the colossal, elliptical space gainfully employed. The geometric precision required of the full-company ensemble passages is quite exceptional. Ingenious wheeled settings also allow for entire scenes to be paraded around the arc as they play out, bringing to life a tale that is forever in motion. 

On this occasion, two sparkling last-minute leads (who stepped in due to injury) impressed in the roles of Cinderella and Prince Guillaume, with Erina Takahashi and Francesco Gabriele Frola ably standing in for Emma Hawes and Aitor Arrieta. This isn’t Prokofiev’s most provocative score, nor was it its most stimulating orchestral realisation, but that mattered little in conjunction with the delightful visual spectacle and splendid choreography on show. Charming and witty, this production is, though far from outlandish, full of entertainment and intrigue.

Will Snell

Cinderella is at the Royal Albert Hall from 15^th until 25^th June 2023. For further information or to book visit the theatre’s website here.