Cinderella at Rose Theatre Kingston

Disclosure: We were invited to see this show for the purpose of this post however all opinions are my own.

Last night we were invited to see Cinderella at Rose Theatre in Kingston and we were excited to not only see a traditional tale reimagined for a new audience but to go a theatre we hadn’t visited before.

Rose Theatre Kingston

Founded in 2008, Rose Theatre has become a real cultural hub in southwest London. Their aim is to take the familiar and make it feel fresh and new – which is exactly what we experienced with Cinderella!

As soon as walked into Rose Theatre we were excited for what was to come. The theatre still feels lovely and new, with a fantastic bar and cafe on site and an auditorium that feels intimate, despite seating 760 people, as if you are right there in thee action and with a great view from every seat.

Cinderella at Rose Theatre

Now, we went to Rose Theatre expecting Cinderella to be a pantomime. A classic fairytale, shown at Christmas. It was the logical conclusion. But, we were so wrong! This Cinderella isn’t a panto, it’s a festive musical masterpiece with all the classic elements of Cinderella woven into a modern, seamless production that I am so glad we had the opportunity to see.

The Rose Theatre Cinderella story

Without giving too much away, this story of Cinderella follows a teenage Ella in modern times, with a dad, step-mum and new twin half-sisters. Ella has usual teenage issues with her family, heightened by the new family dynamic and the added emotions of her mum spending Christmas on a cruise with her boyfriend.

Fairies arrive complete with wands packed full of magic and give Ella a Princess life until midnight, transporting her – and a whole bunch of friends – to Kings-Town, where a Prince is having a ball and looking for a wife.

Ella renames herself Cinderella to fit with her shiny new princess dress and shoes, meets the Prince and falls head over heels – until their budding romance is thwarted by Lady Dungeness and her daughters, Snotterella and Grotterella.

But, like with any good fairytale, everything works itself out in the end. And we all loved the messages that the show had throughout – about family, love, friendship and how it’s really never too late to apologise and start again.

Our Cinderella experience

The show starts with with a simple set with a kitchen and bedroom, with Ella relaxing in her room long before the show starts. We were immediately pulled into Ella’s world, given a glimpse of her teenage style and home before the lights even went down. We couldn’t wait for the show to start.

That kitchen and bedroom ended up being half of a set that was basic but perfect. Scene changes were quick and efficient, moving so easily from Ella’s home to the dark forest or the Prince’s castle. It was so well done and we were completely immersed in the story from the very first lines.

Almost immediately we were plunged into song and we knew this was going to be a musical that we wouldn’t forget in a hurry. The songs fit the show perfectly and were powerful but catchy. Almost 24 hours later and I still have If The Shoe Fits going through my head!

As soon as the fairies arrived we started to see magic come to life on stage – with so many lights, sparkles and special effects. Plus, the three fairies – Ruby, Sapphire and Cubic Zirconia – complemented each other perfectly. They were a great little team team who cracked jokes together, sang together and bounced off each other. They were so much fun and great to watch.

Any good Cinderella story features mice, enchanted for the evening, and this Cinderella show was no different. Bibbidi, Bobbidi and Brian kept us entertained throughout with their hunt for cheese, constant chatter and singing. But, where mice go, so do cats – and Jack Fernie was fantastic as Mr Bingles, the enchanted cat.

Jack played the cat role to perfection. He moved like a cat, had the mannerisms of a cat and had cat personality down to a tee. He was one of our favourite parts of the show and definitely a star in the making. A special mention for Arthur Polidoro Williams who played Buttons, or B-Dog, he made us laugh a lot in the show and proved to be a great friend to Ella, despite his unrequited love!

Soon after the magic starts, we’re introduced to Prince Chadley, played by Joaquin Pedrom Valdes who is great at what he does. He looked the part, danced beautifully and sang so well. But our favourite thing was the little jump skip he did every time he came onto the stage. It was endearing and funny all at once!

In any good festive show there are always characters you love to hate and Lady Dungeness and her daughters, Snotterella and Grotterella, were exactly those characters. If it had been a panto the whole audience would have been booing! But, instead we loved their awfulness and got swept away in their songs and dances. Snotterella and Grotterella are such strong characters and we loved them both. Lady Dungeness had an astounding voice and we loved her solo songs. She put on such a fantastic performance.

We really enjoyed the modern twists in the story – which I won’t spoil by giving away – and throughout it all Ella, played by Maddy Hunter, was incredible. From angsty, moody teen through to Princess Cinderella, her performance was faultless. This is Maddy’s professional debut but you would never know – she sang with such feeling and passion, it was a joy to watch.

What surprised me most about Cinderella is that the majority of the cast – everyone aside from the main six roles – is a young person, part of the Rose Young Company. They are all aged 11 to 21 and absolutely sang, danced and acted their socks off. They should all be so incredibly proud of themselves because, to us, they gave West End performances across the board.

I could go on for pages. The whole show was fantastic. The songs were fresh and new but catchy and so heartfelt in places. The effects and lighting were top notch – from the moon that changed colour at just the right moments to the growing pumpkin and the infliction lighting. It was great.

Overall thoughts on Cinderella at Rose Theatre

This modern version of Cinderella is one that will pull at your heartstrings. It’s so emotive in places and, as a parent, I found it so touching and had tears in my eyes at the end. It was so lovely but also full of fun and joy.

I haven’t seen a show that has brought me such unbridled joy in a long time. Cinderella will appeal to all ages and is packed full of fun, laughs, sparkles and a good dose of festive cheer. It’s the perfect show for the festive period and we absolutely loved it. If you’re looking for something to see this Christmas then Cinderella would be a great choice – especially if your kids are at an age where they find panto a bit cringe but still enjoy going to the theatre. They’ll really enjoy this.

You can find out more about Cinderella over on the Rose Theatre website and for reference the address is: 24-26 High St, Kingston upon Thames KT1 1HL