Cinderella the Musical at the Gillian Lynne Theatre

Welcome to Belleville! The most aggressively picturesque town in the history of the world, populated exclusively with gorgeous townsfolk who stop at nothing to achieve perfection. Belleville is fairy tale come to life: a place where you can’t move without falling over a wishing well or a quivering milkmaid. Maintaining this façade is a full time job, and one that is taken very seriously indeed.

The only person steadfastly refusing to live in the fairy tale is Cinderella, loud-mouthed, dripping with disdain, and more likely to roast Hansel and Gretel for dinner than play the demure and downtrodden maid, Cinderella is desperate to escape. But underneath it all, the loneliness that comes with being the town pariah is wearing on her.

It doesn’t help that her only friend, Prince Sebastian, has suddenly become the heir to the throne after the mysterious disappearance of his elder brother: sex god and charisma machine, Prince Charming. Suddenly thrust into the spotlight, the formerly shy and somewhat-less-sex-goddish Sebastian seems to be quickly growing into his brother’s enormous britches, and out of his friendship with Cinderella. But this change of circumstances also introduces something else to the relationship, a new spark which neither of them quite know what to do with. Could it be that these two old friends mean more to one another than they are willing to let on?

After a devastating PR disaster for Belleville, and with the threat of the guillotine glinting on the horizon, the Queen decides that the only thing to save the town (and her pretty neck) is a Royal Wedding: something colourful and distracting so the peasants don’t get too revolution-y.

All looks lost for the blossoming romance, until Cinderella meets The Godmother, who can fix any problem with a little incision and a couple of broken ribs. Maybe the answer lies where Cinderella has been refusing to look: in becoming the identikit beauty that everyone has always told her to be.

There’s been a lot of hype around this new Andrew Lloyd Weber musical and understandably so.  Not only is it the esteemed composer’s first new show since 2015 but it stars darling of the West End Carrie Hope Fletcher.  Add that to the writer Emerald Fanell winning an oscar before the opening night it’s not hard to see where the excitement is coming from.  But the question is, does this show live up to it?  There have been countless Cinderella adaptations over the years so bringing out a new musical version on 2021 feels pretty brave, and while there is some amazing craftsmanship throughout this performance that ought to be celebrated, sadly there are also some downfalls.

Right from the start of the performance, the lighting and scenery work is prenominal, it sets an atmosphere before anyone has even set foot on the stage. The set has a pop-up storybook feel which goes along with the reimagining of this classic fairytale.  In fact, the set might even have a surprise or two…

Similarly, the costuming is outstanding and I will be surprised if it doesn’t win awards.  Every character is decked out in fantastic fabrics with stunning shape and movement.  Even ‘bad Cinderella’ in her lace dress and Doc Martins looks kick ass in a way that makes her classic ball gown look later in the show seem so much less cool in comparison, which of course is the whole point.  It allows the audience to see what the Prince see’s, that she is best off when being true to herself.

Sadly what lets the show down is the book.  The writing here is just fairly uninspired and doesn’t really feel like it adds anything new.  The uphill battle here is that everyone in the audience already knows the story, so you need something to stop the show from becoming too obvious with where it is leading.  Musically the songs themselves are playful and fun but a few of them add nothing new to the storyline and you get the feeling that we’re they cut the pace of the show would improve.

The role of Cinderella in this adaptation is also a slightly odd one.  It’s not that she’s just a misunderstood teen who is bullied for looking different but at the start at least she’s just… a bad person.  Creating havoc for a village that will have major consequences on her only friend for seemingly no reason, it’s a plot point that just seemed slightly strange for a sympathetic character.

However, Carrie Hope Fletcher plays a phenomenal part in this lead role and it’s easy to see why she is such a hot commodity in the West End at the moment.  Her voice is phenomenal and she performs the part with such energy and vigor it’s contageous.  It’s also worth paying attention to Victoria Hamilton-Barrit in her role as the ever camp and dramatic Step Mother who was a real scene-stealer and a joy to watch.  It was hard not to be filled with joy every time you saw her entering the stage.

Overall this feels like an amazing, highly skilled production of a script that is sadly average, at least in the first half.  There second act feels like a breath of fresh air and contains some twists you might now see coming…

Cinderella the Musical is on at the Gillian Lynne Theatre until the 29th of May 22, tickets start from just £24 from the London Theatre Direct website.

Tickets were gifted in exchange for a review, all words and opinions are my own.  Contains affiliate links.