Over 20 years since the project first came to fruition, Matthew Bourne’s dark and contemporary take on the Cinderella fairy-tale tours again, stopping at The Alhambra Theatre where LEO OWEN caught the show

INSPIRED by Bourne’s chosen composer, his Cinderella is bleakly set during the London Blitz when Sergei Prokofiev purportedly wrote the musical score selected and used almost in its entirety. An industrial black and white city scene is projected onto the stage curtain, adorned with a giant blue glittery shoe and air raid sirens, accompanied by distant searchlights. A crackly original Pathé news mini doc is projected, advising on air raid procedure, while below a small on-stage audience are illuminated.

The era introduced, we move inside to Act one of three where grey art deco furnishings are accompanied by string music, sympathetically establishing Cinderella’s set-up: a cruel stepmother (Madelaine Brennan), multiple step-siblings (both male and female in Bourne’s modernisation) and an injured military father (Jack Jones) who permanently sits in a wheel chair, seemingly unresponsively. The muted hue of character costumes matches these bleak surroundings, notably contrasting with dancers’ excited movements, grappling to receive a party invitation.

Of course, destined to remain excluded from festivities, Cinderella (Ashley Shaw) dances with a mannequin, imagining being loved. Bourne’s clever choreography sees her sauntering off stage, returning with a dancer drawing inspiration from Dick Van Dyke’s Chitty Chitty Bang Bang performance for the rigid movements of a manipulated mannequin, creating humour as he reaches for her behind. An androgynous white-suited fairy “godmother” (Liam Mower), more like a debonair spirit and clearly modelled on Fred Astaire, introduces us to what appears to be an injured pilot (“Harry”), obviously intended for Cinders.

Act Two is one long “ball” sequence at the legendary blitzed Café du Paris. Starting and ending with its bombing, a musical crescendo and projected flames, Bourne’s timescales are confusing. His “spirit” awakens casualties like rigid puppets as music jars between depressing and celebratory, marking the impending doom. Here, Cinderella’s sparkling white gown contrasts with the drabness of the other guests, continuing Bourne’s filmic black and white theme. Cinderella and Harry’s (Andrew Monaghan) first dance is accompanied by a sumptuous melodramatic surround sound dreamscape as they flirtatiously hide from each other, darting in and out of other guests.

Designer and regular Bourne collaborator, Lez Brotherston’s attention to detail is faultless. The show’s final act, boasts a traditional fairy-tale “Happy Ever After” and an extravagant final sequence, including set and costume changes, alongside the addition of flags and confetti, merely for the cast’s final bow. A clock is projected onto the cityscape, illustrating midnight growing nearer and as time dwindles, the show descends into a Dali-esque surreal montage of images. There’s a technically inventive bedroom pas-de-deux that’s beautiful, fast-paced and moving, reflecting the speed of the lovers’ attachment

Bourne’s reimagining has a structurally complex narrative sequence with overly ambitious plot additions for dancers to fully convey without words. It is, however, stylistically slick with seamlessly smooth scene transitions, challenging you to put aside expectations of the Cinderella story. Brotherston’s clever use of the stage curtain projections to create depth, texture and layers coupled with Bourne’s meticulous eye makes you truly appreciate the stage craftsmanship of this lavish production.

Matthew Bourne’s Cinderella showed in The Alhambra Theatre May 8-12before continuing its UK tour: https://new-adventures.net/cinderella#overview