‘We want kids to see a bit of themselves or a friend in it’: Director on modern retelling of Cinderella at Dundee Rep

The first time Jemima Levick went to the theatre, it was at Christmas and it was to see Cinderella.

The memorable experience would be the first step she would take in becoming a theatre professional and now she is hoping to inspire a new generation of children with an updated version of the classic fairytale.

She is the director of Dundee Rep’s contemporary musical retelling of the story and she is in no doubt as to why it remains such a festive favourite.

“It’s something about the magic and transformation, and I think that’s why A Christmas Carol is also always such a big hit,” she said. “We get to watch someone go on a journey where they transform for the better, and magic helps them along the way.

“There’s something relentlessly hopeful about it, and that’s what we want and need at the end of a year, especially one like this. We need hope and light and sparkles and shiny things, and Cinderella delivers all of that.

“I always wanted to be Cinderella. It was the first show I went to see – my granny took me to panto in Brighton and I thought it was amazing.”

Levick worked with husband-and-wife writing team Lynda Radley and Michael John McCarthy to deliver this 21st Century vision of the familiar story.

“In this version, Ella is a farmer who works alone. Her parents are no longer with us, so she lives with her stepmother, stepsister and stepbrother, who is a social media influencer,” she continued. “She meets Liam, the son of a property developer, who visits to learn how farming practices work. She discovers working with someone else is lovely and better than doing it alone.

“Our Cinderella has a lot more agency, and is feistier and sparkier; she has her own opinions. She’s in charge of her destiny but is being led astray by her evil stepmother. Her biggest problem is she doesn’t know how to ask for help, and she’s incredibly lonely.

“It still has everything you would want from Cinderella, like pumpkins, magic and she gets to go to the ball and wear a lovely frock. You don’t want to pull the rug out from all the magic of the traditional story, but you also want it to feel current and for kids to see a bit of themselves or a friend in it.

“There is still magic in the traditional stories, but Disney has done such a brilliant job of telling the classic versions that we wanted to do it differently and let people think in another way. Michael John and Lynda share some really important themes in it, like kindness, honesty and being your true person.”

© Alastair More

Playing Ella is newcomer Hannah Visocchi, leading an energetic mix of young and veteran actors.

“Hannah is an extraordinary talent,” Levick said. “She grew up in the Fife countryside, so she knows the city and the theatre. It’s her first really big role and it’s important to give those opportunities.

“It’s been hard for those who graduated from drama school in the past few years to get a profile, so it’s important to give them a platform. Hannah blew us away in the audition and it’s a joy to work with them all.”

Levick, too, is familiar with the city and the theatre. While she is now the artistic director of the prolific A Play, A Pie And A Pint theatre company, she spent almost eight years at Dundee Rep earlier in her career.

“I feel I grew up here as a director when I joined in 2009,” she added. “It’s a brilliant theatre and has a great stage and space. You can do anything you want here.

“And I love being back in the city, too. It’s changed a lot since I left, but it was changing while I was here. It feels like it knows what it is – it’s a city on the move and it’s reinventing itself while also staying the same. It feels like coming home, and it’s lovely to be back.”

Cinderella, Dundee Rep Theatre, Saturday until Dec 31