REVIEW ROUND-UP: Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella at the Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester

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Discover what critics have made of this revival of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical.

The Guardian: ★★★★ “Under Audra Cramer’s musical direction, the songs are euphoric enough to save the day and Grace Mouat makes you believe Cinderella’s revolutionary kindness can be a superpower. She doesn’t put a foot wrong.”

Manchester Evening News: “This classic tale is retold in the most wonderful way, a modern twist, and some lighthearted humour thrown in for good measure, and even a touch of political showdown to add to the feel good factor, which the show offers by the bucket-loads with this production. It’s a fast paced show, and the performers have the crowd enthralled from just a couple of minutes in.”

West End Best Friend: ★★★★ “To actualise the magical elements of Cinderella live onstage sounds like a challenge for the production’s creative team; a challenge which they rise to fantastically.  Other than a revolve in the stage that feels a little unnecessary, the combination of Elly Wdowski’s set and puppet design, George Reeve’s projection design and Aaron J Dootson’s lighting creates a magnificent atmosphere onstage and turns the magical moments of the story into a visual spectacle.”

The Reviews Hub: ★★★★★ “The production differs from the conventional Cinderella storyline in a number of ways. Ella’s stepsister Charlotte (Katie Ramshaw) is ugly in attitude and behaviour rather than appearance while Olivia-Faith Kamau’s somewhat giddy Gabrielle is a socially aware revolutionary in training. Julie Yammanee is a surprisingly sexy Fairy Godmother. Despite lyrics which literally describe Prince Tophe as ‘’ What a guy!’’ Jacob Fowler takes a charmingly un-macho approach to the role. Grace Mouat is a refreshing change from the usual mopey Cinderella’s with a strong confident approach and a cheeky grin from the start which challenges and irks Annie Aitken’s wonderfully overbearing, Cruella de Vil-style, stepmother.”

Manchester Theatres.com: ★★★★★ “The set was something straight out of a book, with the props and scenery all sketch-like. The small space of the Hope Mill Theatre was the perfect place for this as you could see the detail in these sketches from every seat, and it felt like a pop-up book had come to life. A revolving centre in the middle of the stage allowed for extra movement and made the most out of the small space.”

The production continues to play at the Hope Mill Theatre until 11 December 2022.

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Emma Clarendon
Emma Clarendon studied drama through A-Level before deciding she was much better suited to writing about theatre than appearing onstage. She’s written for a number of online publications ever since, including The News Hub and Art Info. Emma set up her own blog, Love London Love Culture, in April 2015 and tweets at LoveLDNLoveCul.
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Emma Clarendon on FacebookEmma Clarendon on InstagramEmma Clarendon on RssEmma Clarendon on Twitter
Emma Clarendon
Emma Clarendon studied drama through A-Level before deciding she was much better suited to writing about theatre than appearing onstage. She’s written for a number of online publications ever since, including The News Hub and Art Info. Emma set up her own blog, Love London Love Culture, in April 2015 and tweets at LoveLDNLoveCul.

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