There’s a Latin American twist to a traditional tale at the Theatre Chipping Norton this Christmas. The cast has been announced for Theatre Chipping Norton’s family pantomime, Cinderella. Head to the national home of traditional family panto this festive season for this joyous and exciting reimagining of the classic tale, written by John Terry and with music by Rebecca Applin and Eliane Correa. With Latin American music and dance, a riot of colour and non-stop silliness, this is the story of Cinderella as you’ve never experienced it before.
John Terry, Artistic Director of Theatre Chipping Norton and director of Cinderella, comments, This production of Cinderella feels like a real exploration of what a panto can be in 2023 – outward looking, multi-cultural, channelling artistic excellence from a huge diversity of creative people into the folk-form that is a pantomime. With actors, musicians and theatre-makers from at least ten countries across Europe and Latin America, this is going to be a joyful blast of carnival colour and energy the likes of which neither Cinderella or Chipping Norton has seen before. I have always found panto to be an incredibly generous and forgiving artform – it despises moderation and thrives on giddy, open-hearted celebration. With this production we hope to give all of the pantomime staples – dames, singalong songs, throwaway sweets, and of course, lots of wonderfully bad gags – a new and exciting twist.
Our interpretation carries a strong but optimistic environmental theme, with Cinderella’s fragile home in the rainforests of Latin America, collapsing around her. Cinderella is a tale of confused and secret identities, with numerous characters pretending to be something other than what they are. Ultimately, our version shows authenticity – being who you really are – to be the key to happiness, alongside preserving and treasuring the world in which we live.
The cast comprises Ainy Medina (Archie, ITV; Big Bad Mood, Jordan Stephens music video) as Cinderella and Renan Teodoro (Otto in Sin: A New Musical, The Other Palace; Anyone Can Whistle, Southwark Playhouse) as Buttons.
In the small town of Santa Maria de las Orejas de Soplillo (St Maria with the Sticky Out Ears), Cinderella dreams of a new life away from her chores and awful stepmother. Inspired by Latin American music and dance, with a majority Latinx cast, Cinderella is full of life, colour and music at Theatre Chipping Norton this winter.
Fabian Soto Pacheco (Julie: The Musical, tour; Don Quijote de La Mancha, National Auditorium) is Chico; Ian Crowe (Puss in Boots, Theatre Chipping Norton; Alice in Wonderland, Kew Gardens; Robin Hood, Oldham Colisuem) is Quosimoda; Pepa Duarte (A Fight Against, The Royal Court; No One Gets Out Alive, Netflix; Eating Myself, UK tour) is Madre Monte/Elsa; Laura Gómez Gracia (The Last Leg, Channel 4; Calamity Jane, The MTA; The Tempest, tour) is Adnausea; and Tamara Saffir (Bridgerton: Secret Cinema; The Worst Princess, UK tour; Evita, Dominion Theatre) and Conor Mathers in his professional debut round out the cast as the female and male ensemble understudies.
Cinderella at Theatre Chipping Norton promises to be the perfect panto for Encanto-loving families this Christmas, with feel-good stories, hilarious jokes, vibrant music and, of course… sweeties! The clock is ticking… book now.
