Review: Matthew Bourne’s Cinderella, Hippodrome

This is the latest of Matthew Bourne’s reinterpretations of classic ballet fairy stories – and it is a triumph. Bourne has set Cinderella in the London Blitz and his characters’ darkest hour comes when the Prince’s Ball, here relocated to the West End`s glamorous Café de Paris, is bombed by the Luftwaffe (this really happened, on the night of March 8, 1941).

That in itself is an ingenious idea which gives Bourne many dramatic possibilities, but the thrill comes from watching what he keeps from the original fairy story and what he manipulates and plays with to make his version fresh, challenging and hugely entertaining.

Cinders – outstandingly performed by one of Bourne’s regular stars, Ashley Shaw – is still tormented by horrible (if not actually Ugly) Sisters and a wicked Stepmother, yet she is rescued by her own personal angel, Liam Mower, rather than a Fairy Godmother. She is whisked off to the ball in a motorcycle sidecar rather than a pumpkin coach and the glass slippers stay, but this time they bear more than a passing resemblance to Dorothy`s in Oz, except that they glitter blue not red. If you are so inclined, you can enjoy yourself by spotting numerous other visual references at work here.

Pics: Johan Persson

The overall concept and staging have been heavily influenced by Powell and Pressburger’s surreal masterpiece A Matter of Life and Death. Just as in that film, most of this ballet plays out in a dream world of magic and fantasy – and Harry the Pilot, another wonderful performance from Dominic North, is a very intentional David Niven type of hero in a flying jacket. Still clean cut and handsome in a stiff-upper-lip way, but undoubtedly shellshocked and damaged by his wartime experiences.

Some of the dancing displays recognisable similarities to Fred Astaire (dancing with the hat rack in Royal Wedding) and other sections, even more obviously, to sections of Donald O’Connor’s show-stopper Make ‘Em Laugh in Singin’ in the Rain. Bourne also creates Sybil the evil Stepmother (danced by Madelaine Brennan) in the Hollywood image of Joan Crawford, and there’s a delicious passing nod to Brief Encounter – I suspect because it was simply irresistible.

Prokofiev’s music works in an extraordinary way. Premiered at the Bolshoi in 1946 it was written during wartime and Bourne says he interpreted it here as “darkly romantic”, speaking of a time, “when love was found and lost suddenly and the world danced as if there was no tomorrow”. Bourne’s very modern choreography is such a perfect match for Prokofiev’s original music that when you experience them together it’s hard to imagine they weren’t working as a creative partnership.

But to suggest this Cinderella is nothing more than a clever guessing game of “spot the reference” would be doing it a great disservice. It is much more than the sum of its parts. Bourne carefully chooses his many eclectic ingredients just as an artist chooses his colours, creating a work of art that is uniquely his own.

Matthew Bourne’s Cinderella continues at the Hippodrome until Saturday, March 24. For more information and tickets, visit www.atgtickets.com/shows/matthew-bournes-cinderella/bristol-hippodrome

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