Talented performers fail to evoke emotion & romance

Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Cinderella, Birmingham Hippodrome

REINVENTING the timeless folk tale of Cinderella was never going to be easy, especially seeing as the plot and its heroine have featured in numerous films, books, songs, operas and ballets over the centuries.

With set design by John McFarlane – the man behind The Nutcracker – and choreography by Birmingham Royal Ballet’s David Bintley, the expectations were high and clearly I wasn’t the only one anticipating greatness from the 2010 adaptation of Cinderella as the audience began their applause before the curtain had even risen.

The sensational full orchestra combined with the worn-out, dimly-lit kitchen, set the dark and sinister tone for the forceful pushes and teasing Cinderella (Momoko Hirata) was about to receive from her ugly step-sisters.

Though Dumpy (Laura Purkiss) and Skinny (Samara Downs) are just as cruel and tormenting as you’d like the pair to be, Bintley’s efforts to portray Dumpy as greedy and gluttonous are a little excessive and frankly, unnecessary.

Nonetheless, the audience found the sisters’ foolishness amusing, especially as they don their garish tutus in the hopes of impressing the Prince.

From the start, Hirata plays an obedient, yet fiery Cinderella who isn’t afraid to retaliate when her sisters hit her with the broom. She also portrays Cinderella’s loneliness and isolation extremely well as she performs a solo dance in the kitchen with a broom and her only possession – a pair of her mother’s sparkling dancing slippers.

The ballet moves quite quickly away from Cinderella’s miserable life enslaved in her step-mother’s kitchen, instead focusing heavily on the fairy godmother’s transformation of this girl in rags. The staging, though simplistic, is perfect as the realistic, gloomy set opens to reveal a starry and magical backdrop.

The appearance of actors dressed as frogs, newts and mice and all the frivolity associated with these dancing animals also received a few chuckles from the audience.

The three-act performance is particularly stunning during the many group dances, which are extremely well choreographed and executed to perfection.

Joseph Caley is a phenomenal dancer and dominates the stage with his presence, particularly as he makes his grand entrance at the ball. Though occasionally his arm gestures give the impression of an over the top, self-satisfied Prince.

Unfortunately, this ballet is one that loses impact the further away you are from the stage, as I was. Sitting in the top circle you feel disconnected from the dancers, especially during Cinderella and the Prince’s first meeting.

Though I’m unsure if passion and romance could be felt even in the front rows as the choreography itself lacked the intimacy and feeling desired from a stage production of one of the most iconic and romantic fairy-tales.

The fast, intense and sinister music which accompanied the couple’s sequences felt ill-suited to the purpose and detracted from any connection we could have felt between the pair. However, each time Cinderella and the Prince came together, they mesmerised the audience with a selection of impossible lifts and dizzying spins.

Combine this with the lack of emotion, drawn-out set changes, 40 minutes of interval with a considerable distance from the stage and you get a show only a true ballet-enthusiast can appreciate.

Cinderella runs until Saturday (February 18).