Cinderella At The Theatre Chipping Norton -

Cinderella has arrived at The Theatre Chipping Norton for panto season but this time with a fabulous Latin American twist!

We were kindly invited along to see the show on press night (AD) and WOW! What an absolute gem of a little place this is! We’ve been to many theatres over the years and they are all different but I just adore how quaint and unique The Theatre Chipping Norton is. It’s a place full of character and as its a small intimate setting you are right in there with the action. We loved it!

The show has a wonderful twist on the original tale of Cinderella, with this version being set in the rainforest! In the small town of Santa Maria de las Orejas de Soplillo (St Maria with the Sticky Out Ears), Cinderella dreams of a new life away from her chores and awful stepmother. With inspiration drawn from Latin American music and dance and with a majority Latinx cast!

cast of Cinderella — Photo Credit Geraint KLewis

Cinderella is played by Ainy Medina who is so talented and has a great voice. I also loved Buttons played by Renan Teodoro. He reminds me so much of the boy from Disney’s Up, I’m sure he’s stepped straight out of the TV screen on to the stage!

Of course no story of Cinderella would be complete without two wicked stepsisters. Their outfits are just fabulous and they had us in fits of laughter throughout the show. They entertained the audience with all sorts of hilarity (shout out to Simon and Ed in the audience who were roped into the shenanigans!).

The show has a running time of approximately 2.5 hours, including a 20 minute interval half way through. If you’ve got young kids I would recommend seats downstairs for the best view and experience. It’s full of fun and laughter, colour and music, plus a few surprises along the way. We loved the Latin spin on this classic tale!

We also love the social impact The Theatre Chipping Norton has on the local area. A third of their youth theatre places are free via a bursary scheme, they have fed over 5300 free lunches to children, run mental health workshops in schools, do sessions with local care home residents, have classes for people with additional needs, and so much more!