Nottingham Playhouse today announces the cast and creative team for their fairytale Christmas show for younger children in the Neville Studio, Cinderella.

Nottingham Playhouse today announces the cast and creative team for their fairytale Christmas show for younger children in the Neville Studio, Cinderella.

Joining the magical world of Cinderella is Jennifer Zia (Casualty; His Dark Materials), as Ella. Jennifer trained at the Nottingham Television Workshop since 2012. Playing Ella’s proud sister Angelica and a host of hilarious animals, is Emily Vinnicombe (The History of (Almost) Everything; Sleeping Beauty), a graduate of the University of Derby’s BA in Theatre Arts.

This brand-new adaptation of the much-loved fairytale is written by award-winning writer and actor Katie Arnstein (Everything Will be Alright; It’s a Girl!) with song lyrics co-written with Composer and Musical Director, Jude Taylor (Aliens Love Panta Claus; Pirates Love Underpants). It is directed by Tristan Jackson-Pate (Hoppily Every After: The Frog Prince Musical; Cinderella Ice Cream Seller). Jude and Tristan are both Associate Artists with Royal & Derngate.

The Designer for the show is Michelle Cave, a Nottingham Trent University graduate (BA Hons Design for Theatre and Live Performance) who was announced as the winner of the Playhouse Prize earlier this year. The prize gives recent graduates their first professional job after training, which is producing the costume and set designs for the Christmas show for younger children in the Neville Studio.

The creative team were appointed following an open call-out to artists for the roles of Director, Writer and Composer. The call-out was part of Nottingham Playhouse’s professional development programme, Amplify, which supports local creatives with opportunities, workshops, networking and mentoring. The open call-out is a key part of Nottingham Playhouse’s policy of being open and equitable in engaging artists and ensuring that they are offered real opportunities to work in their own community.

Director Tristan Jackson-Pate, said:

“I’m absolutely thrilled to be bringing Katie Arnstein and Jude Taylor’s adaptation of Cinderella to life with our fantastic cast: it’s a funny, magical take on a familiar favourite, with a wonderfully modern heart. At its centre are two sisters discovering they can move beyond the labels they’ve been given and be themselves: something I think will really resonate with children and grown-ups alike.

“Expect pumpkins, transformations, princes, some fantastic dancing and plenty of chances for the whole family to join in the adventure!”

Artistic Director at Nottingham Playhouse, Adam Penford, said:

“Nottingham Playhouse has been creating brand-new work for children, including touring to schools, for decades. What is often a child’s first experience of watching live theatre, introduces them to a whole world of storytelling and ways of making sense of the world.

“Our brilliant creative team are creating a really exciting new version of this classic fairytale, full of magic and wonder, and we can’t wait to have young audiences joining in the fun.”

Cinderella is a Theatre Green Book show, meaning it works within a framework to measure and reduce its environmental impact. At a Basic Level, this means at least 50% of materials used in sets, scenery etc must have a previous life and at least 65% must have a future life.

Specially created for children aged 3 to 8, this magical new version of Cinderella is the perfect introduction to live theatre for little ones. With enchanting music, playful puppets and oodles of opportunities to join in, this 50-minute-long show is a great festive family treat.

Cinderella runs from Thu 3 Dec to Sat 2 Jan in the Neville Studio, with BSL interpreted, Captioned and Relaxed performances. Following its run at Nottingham Playhouse, Cinderella will tour to Primary schools and community centres across Nottinghamshire and further afield.

The show also incorporates Creative Captioning, which uses simple imagery on a screen to highlight key points in the story, making it more accessible to children who are hard of hearing or have issues with auditory processing.

A fairytale adventure awaits!

Step into a world of magic and fun with Cinderella and her hilarious animal friends.

Cinderella dreams of going to the palace, but with midnight fast approaching her happily ever after is far from guaranteed.  Specially created for children aged 3-8, this brand-new version of a family favourite is the perfect introduction to live theatre and a charming festive treat. With music, magic and plenty of opportunities to join in along the way, this is one party you won’t want to miss.