Wee Cinderella

Theatre Royal, Glasgow

Mary Brennan

Five Stars

Even the most ballet-beguiled three year old would find Scottish Ballet’s gorgeous full-length Cinderella a big ask – though the two hours or so simply fly by too soon for many adults. The company’s clever solution is Wee Cinderella, an hour long distillation of Christopher Hampson’s choreography that shortens the action without short-changing the young audience. How could it? Not when the Prokofiev was played live, all the main characters were in place and Bethany Kingsley-Garner – the leading lady in the premiere last month – was dancing Cinderella for them, all classic grace and sweet vulnerability.

There was enough clarity in the stream-lined scenario– mostly performed against the gorgeous back-drop with its very Toshie-esque rose tree – for Wee Cinderella to work as a standalone treat. However the company’s education team made the event engagingly user-friendly and involving – primarily for little ones, but the introducing of key dancers and the mid-way break with joining-in actions led by Catherine Cassidy and Miriam Early was noticeably fun for all! Tick Tock... Principal percussionist Martin Willis arrived to demonstrate, on a set of granite blocks, how to make the clock sound that heralds midnight at the ball. Tick Tock – we stamped and clapped along, before the curtain rose on a swirling ensemble, waltzing Victor Zarallo’s Prince towards his Cinderella and a happy ending that charmed young and old alike.

Earlier in the week, Constance Devernay had danced Cinderella for the first time, taking ownership of the steps with a quick, bright finesse but underpinning that technique with tremendously expressive acting skills. You felt, with her and through her, the magic of discovering unexpected happiness: a joy to watch. The tour continues to Aberdeen and Inverness.