Wharfingers Youth Theatre

The play that Wharfingers staged in November 2003 was Timberlake Wertenberger’s take on Cinderella. A dark, sad tale buoyed up with humour and hope, the updated story according to Wertenberger has a stepmother with a couple of spoilt daughters and a fairy godmother etc., but he also introduces themes that are relevant to modern society – or perhaps he just polishes up the old ones that were there all the time, the better for us to see them. At the same time, he adds some more traditional concepts to the old yarn. For example, deep in the forest live The Seven Deadly Sins, most of which are talking animals and in cahoots with a hooded chap called Sadness.

The set was minimal and many of the props were edible, to the delight of the two stepdaughters, who got to gorge themselves at a table full of grub during every performance. They did this all in the name of Art of course, being the personification of greed. Not much of a sacrifice, I hear you say, although in their defence it must be pointed out that there is a level of skill required in the successful delivery of lines to the back of the theatre with a mouthful of cream bun. As you might imagine, vocal coaching and plenty of food at rehearsals proved essential.(more)