ALW's Cinderella - Gillian Lynne / U.K. Tour (rumour)

We do let people discuss things rationally in an adult way. There was nothing adult about the discussion we removed, and the moderators do not appreciate it when we have to give up our free time to deal with people who think name-calling is a rational form of debate.

It’s a slightly different mix here in Wales, but that pretty much describes my experience too.

Why have we heard so little about the song Far Too Late - it’s the best song in my opinion!

Danb made a point up thread that chimed with me, about casting increasingly reflecting the UK we see around us. However it's been pointed out that many people don't see that - living in almost all white areas, so perhaps that's not a world view or industry yardstick people can unite around. Happily we have the 2011 census (and will soon get the 2021 stats). In 2011 86% of the UK was white. None of the 14% have been princes in 'Wicked' during its London run (on major cast announcements at least), and the prince in Frozen hasn't been cast that way either. I'm very happy that all those Princes were picked on the best person for the job (casting team's subjective choice) . I'm also happy that the casting of CINDERELLA went as it did - best people for the job (casting team's subjective choice), with the happy by-product of making a small dent in those missing 14% of Princes.  Not bad, Cinderella.

Hi FairyGodmother - I'm sure you're right about the love interest (as any FairyGodmother should be!), I was just looking after the princes, lol. But seriously, there are many ways of slicing the pie when looking at who plays what, and who is represented: role type, whole production team  or actors only, whether Musicals pick up the slack for representation in plays, whether the entertainment world picks up the slack for low profile in other parts of society (and if that lets those other areas off the hook).

I noticed your comment about the videos of ALW with cast. It does feel a bit haphazard, and homemade at CINDERELLA. The personal / vloggy feel can work, but online content still has to be good! There was some lovely stuff a few days ago for 'Beauty & the Beast - tour'; stylish, warm, professional. Do you think this is just early days fun stuff for CINDERELLA, and it'll get more slick later?  First impressions count though, that's my worry.

Equality within theatre has to come from everyone earning their roles by merit. There is no suggestion that any of the actors hired this year are anything other than good professionals, who have received their roles by virtue of their talent. Even if a casting call went out looking specifically for a non-traditional casting of an existing role (as happened with Christine in Phantom), there is still a tough field of talented performers competing for a coveted role.

At Phantom, whilst it is historically inaccurate that a young person of colour would've been allowed to perform in an opera in France at the time of the show (Christiane Eda-Pierre, France's first black opera singer, wasn't even born until 1932), the show is about a supernatural deformed serial killer, who can make magical candles appear at will, so frankly historical realism isn't a concern. Similarly, Cinderella, Wicked et al are fairy tales, it really doesn't matter or affect the narrative. In Matilda, Mrs Trunchbull is played by a man to portray the masculinity and physical aura of the character. We suspend disbelief, because there isn't much at stake.

Most will agree, there should be no such thing as a "white musical". Oklahoma, Anything Goes and the like are nowadays being cast more equally - this is a good thing. There should be no such thing as a "black musical", a "Hispanic musical" or "Asian musical" either. This is because equality means equality for ALL.

"In the Heights" at the King's Cross Theatre featured a white man as Usnavi who was superb (Sam Mackay, brilliant guy too), a role originated by a Hispanic. This was a good thing because he was excellent in the role. Benny is a black guy. Swap the two roles and the story is compromised and makes no sense.

"Colourblind" casting only works if it does not structurally harming the narrative. If you're doing Chitty, you CAN have two black parents in a piece with a white child, without that becoming a focus of the narrative. Because it's about a magical flying car. You can't do the same thing in say Next to Normal, because it is to all intents and purposes meant to be taken seriously.

It creates subtext. Subtext the author certainly didn't intend. Is the child supposed to be adopted? How does that affect her relationships and behaviours? Did it come from Father or Mother having an affair - is that addressed in the show or appropriate for the character? Whilst the theatre has a duty to be inclusive, it also has a duty to serve the arts - not only social politics.

We have a long way to go. Throwing diverse casts together willy-nilly "because it's 2021" is very short sighted, without the proper structure for ensuring it means what it should mean - blanket equality for all - not what it is danger of meaning, "we have to look like we are casting equally by hiring more people of colour to play roles traditionally played by white people".

It's an interesting one, because watching Jagged Little Pill on Broadway, I did wonder if the character of Frankie was adopted, or whether it was color-blind casting before it was clarified that yes, she was adopted, and I'm sure the same question would be asked about next to normal should they have colour-blind casting - and that's more down to the nature of the show and the issues which are dealt with in that it could be a question if people aren't familiar with the piece. Interestingly in Everybody's Talkin about Jamie they recast the dad as a black actor when Layton took over the role. 

Back to Cinderella, it's great to see diverse casting, and that this extends to the ensemble and presumably all the covers.

After ‘Promising Young Woman’ I’m expecting an awful lot. She doesn’t strike me as someone that would allow anyone to weaken her vision.

Series 3 of ‘Killing Eve’ was to the same standard as the first two, and refreshingly introduced new characters and situations to keep it fresh. She could be a one trick pony, but it’s a good trick and she knows how to use it well.

I hope not. I went for cheap seats (£25 each or something like that - it's a long time since I booked and I used vouchers) and was hoping they'd be OK. Mind you if it's any good I can always go again in decent seats.

yea i’m really debating what to book for myself, as in some pictures it looks quite restricted but then some pictures the stage is further out into the audience and it looks like a great view so 😣