Did you know The Scouse Cinderella is our best-selling show of ALL TIME? Thousands of you have been in to see it since it opened on the 23 November and thousands more have booked in between now and the 19 January.? That?s a lot of you.
We decided to put together a little history lesson on our Cinders, gathering information about the origins of the character (mostly from Wikipedia) and boy, it is interesting.? Albeit slightly dark at times.
Read all about it below.
7 BC
The first version of Cinderella was a tale called Rosy-Cheeks that was written down in Ancient Greece. An eagle steals a shoe from a beautiful woman and drops it in the King?s lap. He is so taken by the shapeliness of the shoe he searches the land for its owner. This is also the last recorded instance of a man choosing to go out with a woman because of the shoes she is wearing.
Cinders rating: 3 slippers*
860 AD
In China a story called Ye Xian is told about a woman who befriends a fish (presumably they met on the net). Her wicked Stepmother kills the fish but Ye Xian uses the magic bones to get a dress and tickets to ball where she loses a shoe. The king finds the shoe, falls in love etc. and so on?
Cinders rating: 4 slippers
12th?Century AD
A story called The Ash Tree Girl turns up in France. A pair of twins are separated at birth, one raised a princess, the other a pauper. A nobleman is set to marry the princess but really fancies the penniless one. To be honest, that doesn?t sound much like Cinderella at all. Sometimes Wikipedia gives you a duff link.
Cinders rating: 1 slipper
18th?Century AD
Several different variants of the story appear in the medieval?One Thousand and One Nights, also known as the?Arabian Nights, including “The Second Shaykh’s Story”, “The Eldest Lady’s Tale” and “Abdallah ibn Fadil and His Brothers”, all dealing with the theme of a younger sibling harassed by two jealous elders. Nowhere does it mention that these elder siblings are blokes in dresses so that must have been added in at a later date.
Cinders rating: 2 slippers
19th?Century
Another well-known version was recorded by the Brothers Grimm?in the 19th century. The tale is called?”Aschenputtel”?(“Cinderella”?in English translations). This version is much darker and more intense as the stepsisters mutilate their feet to fit in the golden slipper. They also suffer a terrible punishment for their cruelty. You can see why Disney ditched those bits.
Cinders rating: 4 slippers
1950
Disney get their act together and decided to do a version. Packed with catchy tunes and cute animals this is the one that everybody remembers. It won three Academy Awards, including one for the song Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo. That?s stuck in your head now, isn?t it?
Cinders rating: 5 slippers
2018
Liverpool?s Royal Court produce a show described as ?the greatest Cinderella of all time? by somebody in their marketing department. This one will be seen by millions of people in years to come, breaking all Box Office records and sweeping the board at The Stage Awards, The West End Theatre Awards and Crufts. You?re in for a treat!
Cinders rating: 15 slippers
Cinderella has quite the backstory doesn?t she?
We still have tickets available but you had better be quick as they are selling fast with some shows close to being sold out.? Seats available are mainly in the Balcony which you can view below.
You can book tickets by popping into Box Office, giving them a ring on 0151 709 4321 or on our website by clicking?here.