Theatre in review: what the critics are saying about Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cinderella
Oscar-winner Emerald Fennell’s rebooted storyline and dialogue have ‘heart’ as well as ‘barbed wit’

The road to the opening of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s new musical Cinderella has been rocky indeed, said Clive Davis in The Times. All the lockdown delays, pingdemic postponements and “anguished” wranglings with the Government “could almost be material” for a musical of their own. Now, at last, the show has gone on – and it’s a triumph.
Lloyd Webber’s “richly enjoyable orchestrations range from grand waltzes, courtly processionals and marches to deftly pastiched and deeply felt romanticism”, said Chris Wiegand in The Guardian. There are “bewitching melodies”, as well as rollicking guitar riffs, power ballads and a splash of chanson. David Zippel’s “crystalline” lyrics are “cheekily satirical yet wistful and uplifting too”. And Oscar-winner Emerald Fennell’s rebooted storyline and dialogue have “heart” as well as “barbed wit”.
It all “adds up to not so much a ball as a blast: terrifically OTT and silly”, but also warm, funny and vastly entertaining. This “sassy, sarky” version of the fairy-tale is set in Belleville, a place where feudal France meets modern “Love Island-style body snobbery and romantic cynicism”, said Nick Curtis in the London Evening Standard: “periwigs and bustles rub up against washboard abs and cantilevered bosoms”.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
In this culture, Cinders is a “Goth refusenik”, who steals the show with a series of fabulous numbers. Carrie Hope Fletcher excels in the role: her voice is “beautiful and powerful enough to knock down walls”. Ivano Turco is also strong as Sebastian (the brother of Prince Charming, who has vanished from Belleville: plot twist alert).
But the most fun is had by the villains, said Marianka Swain in The Daily Telegraph. Victoria Hamilton-Barritt is a “commanding” Cruella of a Stepmother, and Rebecca Trehearn’s queen is a “regal diva”. With resplendent set and costume design, and “exuberant” choreography, this is “an utterly charming crowd-pleaser” that deserves to run for years.
I had niggles with the concept, said Andrzej Łukowski in Time Out. Turning Cinderella into a slyly feminist “takedown of human superficiality” is a nice idea, but isn’t there something odd about “hiring a cast of hot young buff people to send up the idea of hot young buff people”? Also, it’s not clear why anarchist Cinders would spend her days in “meek servitude” to her wicked stepmother and “ugly-on-the-inside” sisters.
Still, it’s all “great fun” and undeniably enjoyable. Lloyd Webber seems to have reached a point in his career when he just wants to entertain his audiences – and his new show does that in considerable style.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
The Gillian Lynne Theatre, London WC2, until 29 May 2022
-
5 dramatically dysfunctional cartoons about the government shutdown
Cartoons Artists take on life without government, foam finger pointing, and more
-
October 4 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Saturday's political cartoons include the Einstein files, defunding the police, and an odd tribute to Jane Goodall
-
Mustardy beans and hazelnuts recipe
The Week Recommends Nod to French classic offers zingy, fresh taste
-
Mustardy beans and hazelnuts recipe
The Week Recommends Nod to French classic offers zingy, fresh taste
-
Susie Dent picks her favourite books
The Week Recommends The lexicographer and etymologist shares works by Jane Goodall, Noel Streatfeild and Madeleine Pelling
-
6 incredible homes under $1 million
Feature Featuring a home in the National Historic Landmark District of Virginia and a renovated mid-century modern house in Washington
-
The Harder They Come: ‘triumphant’ adaptation of cinema classic
The Week Recommends ‘Uniformly excellent’ cast follow an aspiring musician facing the ‘corruption’ of Kingston, Jamaica
-
House of Guinness: ‘rip-roaring’ Dublin brewing dynasty period drama
The Week Recommends The Irish series mixes the family tangles of ‘Downton’ and ‘Succession’ for a ‘dark’ and ‘quaffable’ watch
-
Dead of Winter: a ‘kick-ass’ hostage thriller
The Week Recommends Emma Thompson plays against type in suspenseful Minnesota-set hair-raiser ‘ringing with gunshots’
-
A Booker shortlist for grown-ups?
Talking Point Dominated by middle-aged authors, this year’s list is a return to ‘good old-fashioned literary fiction’
-
Fractured France: an ‘informative and funny’ enquiry
The Week Recommends Andrew Hussey's work is a blend of ‘memoir, travelogue and personal confession’