This is a charming, charismatic performance that makes you believe in modern love again.
Cinderella is a modern woman who swipes right. She has an e-date scheduled in a very loud bar (this is an important detail), but takes one look at her suitor, and bolts, hitting her head in the process. In comes her Prince Charming, Ash, and a perfect date follows before the clock strikes midnight, and everything returns to how it was before.
The title of the play provides a very, very loose guide for the plot. If you’re looking for traces of the classic fairy tale, they’re minute – the name of a cat, and its two mean cat step sisters are nods in its direction. Everything else is much less literal, and this gives the story a chance to breathe and take on a life of its own. Contrary to the original, this Cinderella is her own saviour, working through her insecurities, grief and demons to come to her own version of a happy ending.
But don’t let that fool you into thinking this is a depressingly deep tale of yearning and heartache! It isn’t at all. Instead it is a fun romp through the magic of a first date… With all the awkwardness, the stupid things we say when we’re nervous, and the sexual tension when we’ve met someone we really, really fancy that that entails. And these two actors have sexual chemistry in droves! It radiates off the stage, making some awkwardly bumbling scenes watchable only through your fingers; they’re that good.
While the play slows down a bit too much around the bedroom scenes (that’s not much of a spoiler) the contrast between the fun and giddy first half and the reflection of the second half provide a good balance, and the important emotional investment in the characters. The redemption provided at the end is very satisfying too, especially for all those in the audience who have ever given up too soon on potential love in this era of swiping left.
