Robbie (Luke Bayer) has lost his mother and is thrown unceremoniously into the street by his dreadful stepsisters (Michaela Stern and Natalie Harman), who claim ownership of both his flat and business – a launderette he runs with best friend and “Soho hag”, Velcro (Millie O’Connell). Luke Bayer and Millie O’Connell in Soho Cinders Soho Cinders, by Anthony Stiles and George Drewe, boasts a remarkable score which has sharply observed comedy and moments of extreme pathos in this edgy Cinderella of politics, money, the press and the requisite musical happy ending. It is a rags to riches tale which retains a certain timelessness. Soho Cinders will be playing in Hild Bede Gym at 7:30pm on Friday 21st and Saturday 22nd June, with a 2:30pm matinee performance on Saturday 22nd June.There have been many interpretations of the fairy tale of Cinderella: from Disney animation to dramatic Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, from panto to porn. But if you’re expecting something ground-breaking, I would look elsewhere. I wish this cast had had better material to work off because they’re capable of so much more. I did enjoy watching Soho Cinders but other than a few performances it’s not something that’s going to sit with me for very long. It wasn’t a massive issue, but it did add to the amateur vibe. Because there were no microphones, sometimes people’s voices and words got lost to the audience, making it harder to follow the plot. But no one properly fixed it during the interval, and it continued to fall down during Act 2 which just seemed like an unnecessary issue. This on its own is fine, accidents happen all the time on stage and they covered it up really well. It gets a little gimmicky at points, with chairs and boxing gloves that all felt a bit out of place and pointless.Ī major problem I had was near the beginning – part of the set fell down. The cast did well performing it considering the tiny amount of time they had to prepare. The choreography was good and fun to watch, making use of space and partner work. Rose Galbraith somehow manages to create an interesting character out of a near nothing role and Jonny Hewitt shines as the ‘love-to-hate’ villainous William. Charlie Nicholson holds the show together with his naïve, likeable character of Robbie and his on-stage relationship with Mark Woods is sweet and heartfelt. Katie Sterland’s vocals were some of the strongest in the cast and Annabel Dickson and Cait Mahoney worked hilariously off each other as the ‘ugly stepsisters’. The ensemble was dedicated and every background action that was going on was worth looking at. Everyone did a good job and somehow made the un-fleshed out story seem somewhat believable and even compelling at times. They did the absolute best with what they had but it still gave the play a slightly amateur vibe. Rhys Rodrigues does an awesome job on the piano and there is basic lighting but it’s a noticeable absence. Unfortunately, this musical is without a proper tech team and band. It’s fun and colourful and overall is used to its full capability thanks to the direction of Euan Walker. Walking into Hild Bede gym you’re met with a well thought out stage with various levels and posters. Shenanigans ensue as they messily follow Cinderella like story beats through to a rushed climax where everything just kind of works itself out without the lead really having to do anything. One with a potential mayor he’s genuinely in love with and the other with a lord he really, really doesn’t like that way. The plot follows a man as he navigates his way through two complicated relationships. ![]() But honestly, Durham Student Theatre can do better. However, with so many musicals available and so many great DULOG shows from this year I find it hard to see what the reasoning behind picking Soho Cinders was. There’s not much point in criticizing the choice to perform this play. ![]() You can use it to address political issues and spin overused tropes or, in the case of Soho Cinders, make a mediocre musical masked as LGBT representation. There’s something fascinating about taking a plot from long ago and trying to work it into a modern setting. Retellings of old stories isn’t exactly a new genre.
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