Full Cast And Creative Team Announced For the Premiere of THE BROTHERS GRIMM PRESENT: CINDERELLA at The Barn Theatre in Cirencester

The Barn Theatre in Cirencester have today announced the full cast and creative team for the premiere of the musical play The Brothers Grimm Present: Cinderella, which will run at the Cotswold venue from 16 November 2021 - 2 January 2022.

The production, which is based on the folk tale of Cinderella from The Brothers Grimm's Grimms' Fairy Tales, was originally planned to debut in Winter 2020 as part of the theatre's 2020 Built by Barn Season but was postponed due to the pandemic. The Brothers Grimm Present: Cinderella also marks the third production by Alan Pollock to debut as the Barn Theatre's Winter offering, following 2019's A Christmas Carol starring Patrick Ryecart and 2020's Peter Pan starring Waylon Jacobs.

Wilhelm and Jakob are the ultimate odd couple. They are The Brothers Grimm. It's late and the brothers are arguing. A young girl appears, Cinderella and we are launched into a tale of kindness, cruelty, music and magic, slippers, pumpkins, and wolves. Blending song, illusion, and puppetry this production will be Cinderella as you've always known it but never seen before.

The Brothers Grimm Present: Cinderella, written by Alan Pollock and composed & arranged by Tarek Merchant, will be directed by Francesca Goodridge with design by Cory Shipp, musical direction by Dylan Townley, movement direction by Jodie Cole and Christina Fulcher, casting direction by Polly Jerrold, lighting design by Sam Rowcliffe-Tanner, sound design by Harry Smith and animation by Barn Digital Media.

The full actor-musician cast of the production are: Jesse Ashby (Mr Tipsy's Down the Hatch) as Jakob, The Father, Regent, Scarecrow and Stepmother, Matthew Romain (Holes) as Wilhelm, Tom and Prince, Tanya Bridgeman (Shoes to Fill, Off West End Commendation) as Girl (Cinderella), Emily Panes (Spectra) as Anastasia and Jester 1, Anna Fordham (Women in Power) as Drusilla and Jester 2, Elzbieta Kalicka (theatrical debut) and Celia Cruwys-Finnigan (The Secret Garden) as Ensemble.

Alan Pollock is renowned as the co-creator of the long-running BBC 2 drama Attachments, starring David Walliams, as well as a staff writer on ITV series such as The Bill, A&E and Crossroads. He has had over 10 stage plays and 4 BBC radio plays produced, with his play One Night in November becoming one of the most successful new plays ever produced at Coventry's Belgrade Theatre.

Tarek Merchant has created a range of new scores for theatre productions, including The Prince and the Pauper (Watermill Theatre), First Encounters: The Merchant of Venice (RSC), Can't Wait for Christmas! (Orange Tree Theatre), Arabian Nights (Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh), The Borrowers & Sleeping Beauty (also Musical Director, both for the Watermill Theatre) as well as various commissions for BYMT (formerly YMTUK) and composing the songs for Marcy Kahan's BBC 4 radio play Big In Samoa. He is also an Associate Artist for the Watermill Theatre.

Francesca Goodridge is the first recipient of the Carne Traineeship for Directors in Wales at Theatr Clwyd and co-founder of The Far Away Plays - an online play reading company that champions Welsh and Wales based creatives. Her credits include BARK! The Musical (Edinburgh Festival Fringe) and Adam, Eve and Steve (The Kings Head Theatre) and she also directed two episodes of the Barn Theatre and Aaron Sidwell's Shakespeare in lockdown digital series Bard From The Barn; directing Natasha Barnes and Georgina Squires in Season 2 and Lorna Fitzgerald in Season 3.

Tickets are now on sale from £11.50, with family ticket deals and school offerings available at barntheatre.org.uk.

The Barn Theatre have announced that all audience members aged 11 and over (unless medically exempt) will be asked to wear a face covering when visiting The Brothers Grimm Present: Cinderella in order to keep themselves, fellow audience members, the production company, theatre staff and volunteers safe. This policy will be reviewed on an on-going basis.

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