4000 horses pull Cinders magical coach to Salford this winter
Birmingham Royal Ballet present Cinderella
At The Lowry Tue 1 – Sat 4 March 2017
A fleet of articulated lorries, harnessing the equivalent power of 4000 horses, is set to roll out of Birmingham this month as Birmingham Royal Ballet heads to Salford with its UK tour of Cinderella on a scale comparable to any major rock band’s road trip. The ballet will be at The Lowry from Tue 1 – Sat 4 March.
Broadcast by the BBC as the 2010 Christmas Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet’s version of Cinderella won the Best Classical Choreography at the prestigious 2011 Critic’s Circle National Dance Awards for David Bintley’s elegant choreographic work.
From its base in the heart of the city, Birmingham Royal Ballet takes its spectacular version of Cinderella around the country on a logistical scale comparable to any major rock tour.
Ten articulated lorries packed with scenery flats, props, lighting rigs, rails of costumes, flight cases of wigs and all the materials necessary to stage this beautiful ballet pound the motorways of Britain.
At each venue the production must adapt its sets to work perfectly on a new and different sized stages and dancers must perform in up to a third less space, taxing the ingenuity and skill of over 50 backstage staff and nearly 40 dancers nightly and, at each venue, the production features the Royal Ballet Sinfonia bringing Prokofiev’s spiky, lush and romantic score to life.
The precision is military, the result magical.
The production requires between two and three days for each build or ‘get in’ and following the final night of the ballet the technical crew work straight on through the night to break down and load up before leaving for the next venue on the tour.
- 10 articulated lorry trailers in total
- 5 scenery trucks
- 1 flooring truck
- 3 lighting trucks
- 1 costume truck
- 31 rails of costumes
- 8 baskets of shoes
- 78 wigs
- 250 hair rollers
- 1000 hair pins
- 174 complete costumes
- 20 fat suits
- 44 tutus
- 2 washing machines and dryers
- 25 core technical staff
- 20 venue staff
- 64 orchestra musicians
- 39 dancers
- 64,688 seats over 27 nights and across 5 venues
Birmingham Royal Ballet’s production of Cinderella premiered in 2010. It is a full-evening (two 1/2 hour) ballet in three acts closely following the traditional Cinderella story of the wicked stepmother, ugly sisters, the fairy Godmother and of course, the slipper.
The music is the complete original score by Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev which premiered in 1945 at the Bolshoi in Moscow but the choreography, by Company Director David Bintley, was created for this version. The set and costume designs are by John F. Macfarlane who designed the Company’s famous, and hugely popular, version of The Nutcracker and the lighting is by David A. Finn, who also lit The Nutcracker.
In a break from the character portrayal in Cinderella that has dominated in recent years, David Bintley returned to the original idea of having ballerinas as the two sisters who are ‘ugly on the inside’, rather than being played by two men. He also added a short prologue showing Cinderella and father at her mother’s graveside. This also serves as the introduction of the wicked stepmother who comes to dominate the family.
John Macfarlane’s designs, originated in close collaboration with David Bintley, offer some true coups de theatre including a giant ticking clock and a beautiful carriage described by one critic as being ‘like spun sugar’.
With beautiful choreography and clear narrative the ballet offers ample opportunities for acting and comedy, particularly for the two sisters, Skinny and Dumpy. It also has great family appeal. Not only does it feature traditional ballerinas, but also roles for dancing lizards, mice and a frog!
Production credits: Music: Sergei Prokofiev; Choreography: David Binley
Production: David Bintley; Designs: John F. Macfarlane; Lighting: David A. Finn
Listings Info
Cinderella
The Lowry
Wed 1 – Sat 4 March 2017
7:30pm, Thu & Sat 2pm
Tickets: £18.50 – £47.50 (Including booking fees)
Box office: 0843 208 6000
Website