Cinderella
CAST: Emma Hayden, Jaydene Marais, Candice Weber, Sanelisiwe Jobodwana
DIRECTORS: Jill Girard and Keith Smith
VENUE: People’s Theatre, Braamfontein
UNTIL: December 24
RATING: ****
Cinderella cannot be anything less than the loveliest of all the fairytale heroines. She’s the one to whom little girls with kind hearts most perfectly relate. She’s the one who best represents the soul of the story of hope: lovely, isolated, beautiful, deserving.
And so it is essential that, on stage, Cinderella is everything little girls imagine because we have such a reliable picture of her on film. There, she swirls and tiptoes and gently sings her way through all her troubles.
She’s the archetypal victim, and the original reason why we think stepmothers and step- sisters are evil.
And, indeed, in the People’s Theatre’s sparkly, twinkle-toed version of the most classic fairy story of them all, Emma Hayden is a heroine after our own hearts. With her golden hair, romantic heart and never-ending patience with those dreadful relatives, she picks up our spirits and trips us into the ballroom of our imagination.
This is Hayden’s debut on this much-loved stage, and she is one of the stars of an outstanding Christmas production. Another is 14-year-old Jaydene Marais, who, for her age, surprises as the nasty Drizella. That’s the dark-haired stepsister with the even darker heart whose only intention is to snare the prince and kick out the contender.
Marais is surely headed for big things. At her tender age, she has already played Christopher Robin in Winnie the Pooh and appeared in 12 productions at this theatre.
Her ugly sister sidekick, Anastasia, also gets the down-and-dirty treatment from Candice Weber, whose experience in children’s and puppet theatre shows in a role which must reach out, of course, to even the youngest child in the audience.
And what would Cinderella be without the haughiest and most horrible stepmother? Sanelisiwe Jobodwana has an unashamed ball in the role, flapping her eyelashes and tilting her chin.
There is plenty of other fun to be had. A lot of it comes from Sipho Hlongwane as the Grand Duke with the terrible hairdo. Those who regularly take their seats in this beloved little theatre will remember him as King Triton in the Little Mermaid and, even better, as Hubert in The Sleeping Beauty. He doesn’t disappoint here, either.
And what would Cinderella be without a handsome, carefree prince, longing for his true love? Henck Conrey switches from TV soap operas – The Wild and 7de Laan – to serenade his happily ever after. It’s irresistible.