From Greek fables to Japanese myths, tales and storytelling has been an inseparable part of human history. Throughout the years, tales have been used both for entertaining and educational purposes. In addition to this, they have also been the source of inspiration for a great number of artists. A tale, and specifically Charles Perrault’s Cinderella, also known as The Little Glass Slipper, has inspired our show too!

From our very first group meeting, we all knew that we wanted to devise a piece of work which would be based on a tale. Indeed, many well-know fairy tales were mentioned such as Rapunzel, The Beauty and the Beast, Snow White and, of course, Cinderella. Our decision to focus on popular fairy tales and then add a twist on them was based on the fact that we believed it to be a great selling point for our final show that would attract a bigger audience. For me there was another reason! I always believed the morals that can be found in classic fairy tales, such as to be kind and thoughtful, to be brave and think out of the box and to be clever and not to trust strangers, are valuable lessons for children. However, there are some other elements in fairy tales that don’t quite fit with the beliefs and values shared by the people of the 21^st century. Indeed, the film critic, Terrence Rafferty, argues that:

the social realities on which the original fairy tales depend are almost incomprehensibly alien to 21st-century sensibilities; they reek of feudalism. And the lessons they’re supposed to teach our young don’t have much force these days. (2012)

For me, these “lessons” that Rafferty refers to are more than simply irrelevant of the times. I believe them to be dangerous as fairy tales also have the tendency to teach children false concepts of gender roles, love as well the notions of good versus evil. For this reason, I suggested to the group a new approach of the tale of Cinderella and a different representation of its characters. Consequently, in our show Cinderella undergoes through a journey of discovery to finally find herself to be strong and independent. The fairy godmother in our story is not the “outside” help that makes her wish of attending the ball come true. Instead, she is Cinderella herself and more specifically the “voice of reason” inside her head. The voice is there to remind Cinderella, in her darkest moments, to be the better version of herself. Similarly to Cinderella, the ugly sisters are not shown as utterly evil. Growing up with a mother that never showed them kindness or affection, they are unable to show kindness to Cinderella themselves. Moreover, unaware of the devastating impact that their insults have on Cinderella, the sisters keep verbally abuse her until she snaps.

Essentially, the play does not focus on the conquest of finding love and getting married. It does not portray the prince as the hero that saves Cinderella from her cruel family by marrying her and inviting her to stay in the palace. In fact, the Prince does not meet Cinderella in the play at all! The play rather involves around verbal abuse and its effects, courage, reason, kindness and the importance of family.

Works Cited

Rafferty, T. (2012) The Better to Entertain You With, My Dear: ‘Mirror Mirror,’ ‘Grimm’ and Hollywood Love for Fairy Tales. New York: The New York Times. Available from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/25/movies/mirror-mirror-grimm-and-hollywood-love-for-fairy-tales.html?_r=0 [accessed 3 May 2016].