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SCOTTISH BALLET: CINDERELLA Emotion and laughs in Christopher Hampson’s fairytale adaptation
From the sadness of a young girl losing her mother to a romantic pas de deux between two people in love, Christopher Hampson’s adaptation of Cinderella doesn’t skimp on sentimental moments. But it’s not tight with the laughs either, and when Scottish Ballet toured Cinderella in 2015, audiences were clearly loving the laugh-out-loud moments.
‘Comic timing is all about the pauses – how long you wait until the joke lands,’ says dancer Araminta Wraith, whose hilarious portrayal of the Tall Stepsister won over the crowds three years ago. ‘So that’s what we work on in rehearsals, but it keeps developing because once you see the audience reaction and what they i nd funny, then you can play around with it.’
With so many shows to perform, each dancer learns more than one role – and in a case of going from the sublime to the ridiculous, Wraith portrays the nasty stepsister some nights and the kind, supportive fairy godmother on others. She loves playing both, but clearly delights in taking on some of the nastier attributes the sister has to offer.
‘Obviously I’d like to say that the Tall Stepsister is nothing like me as a person,’ laughs Wraith, ‘she’s so horrible. But I love playing a villain – she’s mean and manipulative and it’s just such a fun character to play.’ (Kelly Apter) ■ Edinburgh Festival Theatre, Sat 8–Sun 30 Dec; Theatre Royal, Glasgow, Fri 4–Sat 12 Jan.
1 Nov 2018–31 Jan 2019 THE LIST 121