Hip Hop Cinderella

Charming, fun, cartoonish and intergalactic, Rosetta LeNoire Musical Theatre Academy alumni’s rap-fairytale Hip Hop Cinderella is both a satire on contemporary American pop culture and social media and a hopeful parable about the future of humanity. The musical is a brilliantly imaginative, futuristic romp, adapted by Linda Chichester and David Coffman and based on Scott Elmegreen’s book.

The opening transports us to a space-age world of rocket trips, wormholes and communication via Zoom, with an impressive imitation of Star Wars movie graphics. The tongue-in-cheek characterisation is decidedly camp and kitsch, poking fun at social networking’s conceits and ego games: stepmother Lady Zurka and stepsisters Zig and Zag rap It’s Zurka Time, with lines like “I’m so great, like I am so great, You all wanna hate, cuz my flow is first rate. I got the likes, and I got the right brand. Known throughout the land as Zig!!”. The haughty sisters’ put-downs of Cinderella also echo Internet bullying: “Cinder-Block ain’t got what it takes, Just taking up space, a total disgrace. She’s like, a hag. She’s kind of a drag, So sad. She’s such a ragged little pig”.

Perfect caricatures of certain types of self-absorbed, hubristic American pop culture casualties, Zig and Zag are the antithesis of Cinderella, who is a talented, intelligent, warm-hearted girl with low self-confidence. In place of Disney’s friendly mice and fairy godmother is the heroine’s faithful Runka the Robot Rapper, who defends her, boosts her self-belief and relentlessly pushes her to attend the party-loving Prince’s interplanetary rap competition to show off her musical talents. They travel to the royal host’s distant galaxy via a time-limited quantum portal, instead of a pumpkin carriage.

Hip Hop Cinderella’s songs are clever and entertaining, and the music (by Rona Siddiqui) is energising. Thought-provokingly creative writing complements the engaging and talented actors, with eye-catching, innovative graphics in the foreground and background. The overall effect is amusing and original. On first impression the work has a childlike, guileless quality, but it is in fact a witty, cutting-edge parody, a social comment, and an expression of hope for a better, kinder, more equal and diverse world.

Catherine Sedgwick

Hip Hop Cinderella is available to stream online from 10^th December until 31^st January 2021. For further information or to book visit the theatre’s website here.