LondonTheatre1

London Theatre: Tickets Reviews | News | West End | Off-West End | UK Touring Productions

London Theatre Tickets
  • Home
  • Top Selling Shows
    • Musicals
    • & Juliet
    • Anything Goes
    • Back To The Future
    • Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club
    • Come From Away
    • Dear Evan Hansen
    • Dirty Dancing
    • Frozen The Musical
    • Heathers
    • Jersey Boys
    • Les Misérables
    • Mamma Mia
    • Mary Poppins
    • Matilda the Musical
    • My Fair Lady
    • Moulin Rouge
    • Only Fools and Horses
    • Pretty Woman the Musical
    • Six the Musical
    • The Book of Mormon
    • The Drifters Girl
    • The Lion King
    • The Phantom of the Opera
    • Tina the Musical
    • Wicked
    • Popular Plays in London
      • A Christmas Carol
      • Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
      • The Mousetrap
      • The Woman in Black
      • Witness for the Prosecution
    • London Theatres
      • Seating Plans
      • Adelphi Theatre
      • Ambassadors Theatre
      • Duke of York’s Theatre
      • Fortune Theatre
      • Harold Pinter Theatre
      • Lyceum Theatre
      • New Wimbledon Theatre
      • New Wimbledon Theatre Studio
      • Piccadilly Theatre
      • Richmond Theatre
      • Trafalgar Theatre
  • News
    • Interviews
  • Reviews
  • ATG Tickets
    • Alexandra Theatre
    • Aylesbury Waterside Theatre
    • Brighton Theatre Royal
    • Bristol Hippodrome
      • Bristol Theatre Seating Plan
    • Edinburgh Playhouse
    • Glasgow Theatre Royal
    • Grand Opera House York
    • King’s Theatre Glasgow
    • Kit Kat Club London
    • Leas Cliff Hall
    • Liverpool Empire
    • Manchester Opera House
    • Manchester Palace Theatre
    • Milton Keynes Theatre
    • New Theatre Oxford
    • New Victoria Theatre Woking
    • New Wimbledon Theatre
    • New Wimbledon Theatre Studio
    • Princess Theatre Torquay
    • Regent Theatre Stoke
    • Rhoda McGaw Theatre
    • Richmond Theatre
    • Stockton Globe
    • Sunderland Empire
    • Swansea Arena
    • Victoria Hall Hanley Stoke
  • Dancewear
  • Newsletter
Home » Reviews » Ballet » Review of Dutch National Ballet’s Cinderella by Christopher Wheeldon

Review of Dutch National Ballet’s Cinderella by Christopher Wheeldon

July 9, 2015 Last updated: May 9, 2019 12:18 am By Liz Dyer

Dutch National Ballet Cinderella
Dutch National Ballet Cinderella Photo by Angela Sterling

I really should go to the ballet more often. It’s a rare treat, but one that never fails to enchant me. And I wasn’t the only one feeling the love at last night’s UK premiere of Christopher Wheeldon’s Cinderella, performed by the Dutch National Ballet and the Royal Ballet Sinfonia.

The story is one we all know well… and yet at the same time, it’s not. Wheeldon took as his inspiration the Brothers Grimm version of the fairy tale rather than the more traditional Charles Perrault story. So there’s no fairy godmother and no glass slippers; instead, Cinderella – a more resilient character than we’re used to seeing – is guided throughout by four male Fates, and her transformation for the ball is provided by a magical tree growing over her mother’s grave and the Spirits of Lightness, Generosity, Mystery and Fluidity.

Wheeldon, aiming for a more balanced tale, also provides a little back story for Prince Guillaume, who’s being pressured by his parents to choose a bride, but to their frustration, prefers to have fun with his friend Benjamin – until he meets Cinderella at the ball, and she loses a shoe, and… we all know how the story ends.

Anna Tsygankova and Matthew Golding are stunning as Cinderella and her prince; their romance is both magical and totally convincing (not surprising, since they’re a couple in real life, too). Tsygankova is particularly captivating; tiny and delicate, she captures the spirit of the beautiful and kind-hearted Cinderella, refusing to be beaten by her stepmother’s cruelty and her father’s neglect. Meanwhile, Wen Ting Guan and Nadia Yanowsky provide comedy as the stepsisters, clumsily trying to outdo each other in their bid for the prince’s attention.

Set to Prokofiev’s 1945 score, the production is a visual feast, thanks to Julian Crouch’s lavish set and costumes. The rainbow effect created by the Spirits who help Cinderella prepare for the ball is gorgeous, and the ball itself is predictably spectacular. But the highlight has to be puppeteer Basil Twist’s stunning horse-drawn carriage, with Cinderella held aloft, her beautiful ball gown billowing behind her. It’s every little girl’s dream come true, and a dramatic and lovely end to Act 1.

The story does have some darker elements (like when stepmother Hortensia mutilates her eldest daughter’s foot to try and fit it into the shoe). And not everything is fully explained – Benjamin’s sudden passion for stepsister Clementine, as lovely as it is, does seem to rather come out of nowhere, considering his earlier disdain towards her. On the whole, though, Wheeldon’s Cinderella is an uplifting, sweeping romance with a gently mischievous sense of humour, which will leave you with a smile on your face and a skip in your step.

4 stars

Review by Liz Dyer

Dutch National Ballet
Christopher Wheeldon’s Cinderella
London Coliseum
UK PREMIERE
Wednesday 8 – Saturday 11 July 2015
Performances: Wed – Sat at 7.30pm, Sat & Thu Mat at 2pm
www.sadlerswells.com

Cinderella in London: Het Nationale Ballet | Dutch National Ballet

Dutch National Ballet presents a new interpretation of Cinderella, choreographed by Sadler’s Wells Associate Artist Christopher Wheeldon. Premiered at Dutch National Opera & Ballet in December 2012 to great public and critical acclaim, Wheeldon’s ballet is set to Prokofiev’s score – performed live by Royal Ballet Sinfonia – with sets and costumes by British designer Julian Crouch.

During the London run, the title role of Cinderella will be performed by Anna Tsygankova. Earlier this year the Russian dancer made her debut with The Royal Ballet as a Guest Artist, dancing Kitri in Don Quixote. She will be joined on stage by her partner, Canadian dancer and Guest Principal Matthew Golding. Having been a Principal since 2010, Golding joined The Royal Ballet in March 2014, but remains as a Guest Principal with the Dutch National Ballet. Roles will be alternated and certain performances.

Thursday 9th July 2015

Dirty Dancing Tickets

Kinky Boots – The Musical In Concert at Theatre Royal Drury Lane

Shoes, one would have thought, are fairly recession-proof. The problem for Charlie Price (Joel Harper-Jackson, reprising the role he previously played … [Read More...]

Pennyroyal at Finborough Theatre | Review

Pennyroyal is a conversation. It’s a conversation, an ongoing conversation, between two sisters, Chris and Daff, that, like a garden, is tended … [Read More...]

FOX-LIGHT by Barnaby Tobias at The Hope Theatre

The descriptions of what happens in this show are so vivid that paradoxically they leave nothing to the imagination – and, at least at the performance … [Read More...]

Black, the Clown by Pablo Sorozábal and Francisco Serrano Anguita

Although not entirely perfect, this staging – the first ever in the UK – of Pablo Sorozabal’s Zarzuela (Spanish Operetta) is brilliant, atmospheric, … [Read More...]

Little Women at The Roman Theatre of Verulamium St Albans

As theatre productions go this is a memorable, magical experience filled with heart and love and so many tiny thoughtful details, that I’m not sure a … [Read More...]

London Theatre 1 and London Theatre One are Registered Trademarks Copyright 2022 www.LondonTheatre1.com
By using our website you’re confirming that you’re happy to accept our use of cookies.
Privacy Policy & Cookies - Advertising - About Us - Newsletter - Contact Us

As an Amazon Associate our website receives a commission from qualifying purchases from Amazon.