Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Review: Scottish Ballet’s magical performance of Cinders! a complete treat for the senses

I always make a point of heading out to see the Scottish Ballet whenever they're in Aberdeen and I have seen many a production of Cinderella.  And while I have loved each one last night's interpretation was my favourite by far.

Scottish Ballet's Cinders! wowed the audience last night at HM Theatre.
Scottish Ballet's Cinders! wowed the audience last night at HM Theatre.

It’s a tale as old as time.

But last night audiences at HM Theatre were spellbound by the Scottish Ballet’s new and bold take on the classic tale as Cinders! came to town.

The festive favourite returned to Aberdeen with a bang, but not as we all know it.

Breaking with tradition, the playful new production told perfectly a beautiful interpretation of Cinderella.

However, in a twist last night’s leading light was played by a man.

Bruno Micchiardi stared as the poor little boy orphaned at the turn of the 20th century after a fire broke out in Cinders’ family-run emporium.

The new proprietor, Mrs Thorne, and her three ghastly children fill the space of wicked stepmum and ugly sisters – treating Cinders as a servant.

L to R Claire Souet as Flossie, Aaron Venegas as Tarquin and Aisling Brangan as Morag in Scottish Ballet’s Cinders.

But when the Royal Ball is announced, and with a little bit more than bibbity bobbity bo, he is transformed and heads off to find his Princess, played by Jessica Fyfe.

The pair were a perfect match, leaving the audience in awe of their beautiful and bold performances.

As the tour progresses the Scottish Ballet’s Cinders! will have a surprise in store each night for audiences as the curtain rises as they won’t know before if Cinders is to be played by a woman or a man.

Choreographer Christopher Hampson wanted to switch the genders to question who gets to be transformed within traditional stories.

And within about five minutes of watching last night’s performance, I had forgotten I was not watching a production of the original tale.

Coupled with beautiful staging and setting which make you feel like you’re in a scene from a Victorian Christmas card, the large live orchestra playing the traditional Prokofiev score brings the whole production to life. It was a complete treat for the senses.

Bruno Micchiardi as Cinders and Jessica Fyfe as Princess Louise in Scottish Ballet’s Cinders.

I always make a point of heading out to see the Scottish Ballet whenever they’re in Aberdeen and I have seen many a production of Cinderella.

And while I have loved each one last night’s interpretation was my favourite by far.

Despite the tweaks to the story, the original magic is there in abundance as well as plenty poignent and hilarious moments too.

Cinders! runs until Saturday, January 27. You can buy tickets here.

Conversation