One of Matthew Bourne’s best-loved productions is heading back to Birmingham as Cinderella celebrates its 30th anniversary with a major UK tour – and a largely new cast ready to step into this extraordinary wartime fairytale.
Forget pumpkins, glass slippers and a handsome prince waiting at the palace. Matthew Bourne’s Cinderella takes one of the world’s most familiar stories and transports it to the streets of London during the Second World War, transforming the fairytale into an evocative tale of love, separation and survival.
New Adventures is bringing the Olivier Award-winning production back to the stage for an extensive 2026–27 UK tour, with Birmingham Hippodrome welcoming Cinderella from Tuesday 9th to Saturday 13th February 2027.
It promises to be one of the dance highlights of Birmingham’s 2027 calendar.
Cinderella – but not as you know it
Bourne’s version places Cinderella in London in 1940, against the darkness, danger and uncertainty of the Blitz.
At the centre of the story is a chance encounter between Cinderella and Harry, a dashing young RAF pilot. Their meeting leads to a magical night together and, just as they begin to fall in love, the realities of war tear them apart.
It’s a clever and deeply romantic reimagining of the traditional story, but one which also explores a city living under extraordinary pressure – where sirens, blackouts and bombing raids could transform lives in seconds.
For this 30th anniversary production, Hannah Kremer and Katrina Lyndon will share the role of Cinderella, while Reece Causton and Rory Macleod take on the role of Harry.
Cinderella’s supernatural guide is also given a distinctly Bourne-style transformation. Instead of a Fairy Godmother, there is The Angel – Cinderella’s ‘Fairy GodFather’ – played by James Lovell, Andy Monaghan and Kingston Taylor.
Meanwhile, Cinderella’s formidable stepmother Sybil will be played by Michela Meazza and Daisy West, with Nicole Kabera joining for the UK tour.
Meazza provides a particularly lovely connection between past and present: she appeared in the original production back in 1997.
A new generation takes to the stage
The anniversary production brings together established New Adventures performers with a new generation of dancers.
Completing the company as Cinderella’s stepbrothers and sisters and the people of 1940s London are Mark Austin, Benjamin Barlow Bazeley, Tom Barnes Standing, Isabella Chandler, Carla Contini, Adam Davies, Christina Gibbs, Louis Harris, Thomas Ireson, Rosanna Lindsey, Maisie Mwebe, Matthew Petty, Matthew Potulski, Holly Saw, Molly Shaw-Downie and Shakiera Ward.
Cameron Allan, Ethan Fairclough, Woody Freeman and Harry Hincks will all make their New Adventures debuts with the production.
For Matthew Bourne, that combination of new talent and performers with links to the production’s history is an important part of this anniversary revival.
“It’s thrilling to welcome an almost entirely new cast to bring our epic wartime love story back to life for its 30th anniversary. In fact, apart from the wonderful Michela Meazza (who performed in the original production in 1997), all the Principals will be taking on these coveted roles in Cinderella for the first time this season.”
Matthew added that 73% of the company have come through New Adventures’ talent development programmes, something he says helps the company combine “the finest world-class dance artists and the most exciting emerging talent that the UK has to offer.”
Bringing wartime London to life
The world surrounding the dancers is every bit as important as the choreography.
Matthew Bourne’s Cinderella features Lez Brotherston’s Olivier Award-winning designs, alongside lighting from fellow Olivier Award winner Neil Austin, video and projection design by Duncan McLean and sound design from Paul Groothuis.
Together they transform the theatre into wartime London, surrounding Prokofiev’s magnificent score with the sights and sounds of a city under attack.
There’s an added historical connection for this anniversary tour, too.
Imperial War Museums will be an official partner of the 2026–27 tour, with New Adventures running Cinderella-inspired dance workshops during the museum’s Big Story Festival in October.
The cast will also visit IWM exhibitions for a research day, while the production programme will feature a discussion between designer Lez Brotherston and IWM curator James Taylor exploring wartime artefacts and the ways they have influenced the visual world of the show.
Thirty years of Cinderella
The tour begins at Theatre Royal Plymouth in November before travelling to Salford and then settling into Sadler’s Wells for the Christmas season.
In 2027, the production heads around the country, including Milton Keynes, Woking, Liverpool, Hull, Nottingham, Southampton, Cardiff, Canterbury, Bradford, Norwich, Glasgow, Newcastle and Edinburgh – with that all-important Birmingham stop in February.
Three decades after the production was first created, Bourne’s Cinderella remains far removed from a conventional fairytale ballet.
It’s romantic, cinematic and occasionally dark, mixing fantasy with a recognisable period in British history. Most importantly, underneath the spectacle is a simple story about two people finding one another at a time when tomorrow could never be taken for granted.
And that makes its return feel particularly fitting.
Thirty years on, Cinderella and Harry are ready to fall in love all over again.
Matthew Bourne’s Cinderella – Birmingham
Where: Birmingham Hippodrome, Hurst Street, Birmingham
When: Tuesday 9 – Saturday 13 February 2027
Tickets: From £26
Age guidance: 8+
Performances: Evening performances at 7.30pm, with 2.30pm matinees on Thursday and Saturday. An audio-described performance and Touch Tour are available on Saturday 13 February.
Tickets and full performance details: HERE
More about the production and UK tour: HERE
