Popular Fairytale Transformed into Modern Play on Batumi Stage
The Adjaran city of Batumi hosted the premier of a play based on a well-known and beloved fairytale, Cinderella, on December 12. The contemporary version of the popular story, named “Cinderella: a fairy tale” by Sally Cookson and Adam Peck, was staged by Cressida Brown, a renowned British theater director, at the Batumi State Drama Theater. The actors of the theater were actively involved in the project and collaborated with the foreign director and performed with great enthusiasm for the local audience.
The play brought new life to an old classic, and presented it in a creative and modern way. The authors of the play say the new Cinderella touches upon such issues as parental love, parental cruelty, sibling rivalry, jealousy, isolation, revenge, survival, falling in love and addresses fundamental questions about what it is to be human. The performance perfectly depicts the issues of the contemporary world, since the events take place in a modern setting. So, aside from being fun, children get more to think about!
“The modern Cinderella is an Olivier Award nominated show in the UK, so it got a lot of praise in the press and it turned out a great success,” said Cressida Brown. “This is why I decided to bring it to Georgia and introduce the story to the local audience from a different perspective. In the play there’s lot of fun, joy and action. Cinderella is a very modern girl and instead of crystal shoes, she wears sparkling golden boots. She is definitely a real hero and Prince Charming actually follows her!”
Brown is the artistic director of the Offstage Theater (2006-present) and the winner of the UK Kevin Spacey Foundation’s UK Artist of Choice 2015. Additionally, the director was nominated for 10 Offies including Best Production twice, Best Director. Cressida says she enjoyed working with the Georgian cast and that it was not difficult at all for her to cooperate with them.
“I think Cinderella is quite an old fairytale but it needs updating,” she adds. “This version is about real love: the characters fall in love because they like each other’s personalities and not only appearances. It serves as a wonderful example of how love can overcome greed. The play runs for just three days, but I hope it will be included in the theater repertoire.”
It’s a colorful and extremely fun play full of sweets, fights and toys: in a word, everything that kids like, bringing the real Christmas spirit to spectators and leaving smiles on the faces of all.
The play and entire project was implemented jointly by the British Council-Georgia and the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports of Adjara Autonomous Republic, as part of the Performing Arts Support Program that is aimed at developing the performing arts sector and improving audience engagement in Adjara.
Lika Chigladze