Continuing its season theme of Titles & Revivals, Dundee Rep is delighted to announce the cast for its new musical re-telling of Cinderella, a bold new adaptation premiering on 26 November. Filling the iconic glass slippers – or, in this instance, wellies! – of Ella is Hannah Visocchi whilst Dundee Rep Ensemble member Annie Louise Ross plays her stepmother Lenore. Taking on the roles of her evil stepsister, and now stepbrother, is Leah Byrne and Adam Greene. The role of Apollo King will be played by John Macaulay and his son Liam King, played by Jatinder Singh Randhawa. The Ensemble’s Emily Winter plays the role of Ella’s mother, Cora and Sebastian Lim Seet and Karen Young together take on the roles of Ella’s boots, Rightie and Leftie.
This new production, directed by Jemima Levick, Artistic Director of A Play, A Pie and A Pint, takes the story and central character in a bold new direction. Granting Cinderella more agency than in previous iterations, this is a story with a strong moral sense on the importance of knowing when to trust those around you and when to ask for help. This production also grounds its supernatural elements firmly in the natural world, tying in with a central environmental message that will hopefully inspire audiences long after leaving the theatre.
The clock strikes midnight. Young farmer Ella has big dreams, but her stepbrother and stepsister are more interested in their Insta posts than helping her. Never one to give up hope, Liam shows up and Ella’s world gets a little wilder…
Cinderella is written by Lynda Radley, celebrated Irish dramaturgist and writer with music by theatrical composer and musician Michael John McCarthy and Isaac Savage as the Musical Director. Kenneth MacLeod serves as the production Set and Costume Designer with Colin Grenfell as Lighting Designer and Vicky Manderson as Movement Director. Tom Penny on Sound Design and the Ensemble’s Ewan Donald as Assistant Director complete the Creative Team behind this inspiring re-telling of the classic fairy tale is a musical festive must-see for all the family this Christmas!
Director Jemima Levick said: “I'm delighted to be returning to The Rep to direct this year's family Christmas show, Cinderella. Lynda and Michael John have created an absolutely joyous version of this classic tale, while pulling the story into the here and now. The songs are dangerously catchy and bring with them some much needed fun for the end of 2022. I'm so excited to share it with the audiences in Dundee.”
Writer Lynda Radley said: “It has been a delight to create this new musical for Dundee Rep. Our aim was to harness the magic of the Cinderella story and give it an updated heroine, lots of laughs and some beautiful new songs. Our Ella is tenacious, covered in mud, and working hard to achieve big dreams. Can she, and her boots, figure out how to save Willow Grove farm before her stepmother ruins everything?”
Creative Team Book by Lynda Radley
Music by Michael John McCarthy
Lyrics by Michael John McCarthy & Lynda Radley
Director Jemima Levick
Set and Costume Designer Kenneth MacLeod
Lighting Designer Colin Grenfell
Sound Designer Tom Penny
Movement Director Vicki Manderson
Musical Director Isaac Savage
Casting Director Michael Howell
Assistant Director Ewan Donald
Cast
Ella - Hannah Visocchi
Lenore - Annie Louise Ross
Florence - Leah Byrne
Laurence - Adam Greene
Liam - Jatinder Singh Randhawa
Apollo King - John Macaulay
Cora - Emily Winter
Rightie - Sebastian Lim Seet
Leftie - Karen Young
Performing MD - Isaac Savage
Musician and swing - Stephanie Cremona
Cast and Crew Biographies
Lynda Radley
Book and Lyrics
Lynda Radley is a writer from Cork who has been living in Scotland since 2005. Lynda’s plays have been performed in Scotland, Ireland, England, The Netherlands, India, The USA, and Canada.
Her plays include: Futureproof (Dundee Rep/Traverse Theatre), Christmas Tales, The Mother Load (Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh), Fourteen Voices From The Bloodied Field (The Abbey Theatre), The Maid’s Room, There Is Someone Who Hates Us (National Theatre of Scotland), Ligach And The Salmon (Pitlochry Festival Theatre), Happier Or Better? (Royal Conservatoire of Scotland), The Interference (Pepperdine Scotland), Berlin Love Tour, The Heights, The Art Of Swimming, Soap with Ciarán Fitzpatrick-, Integrity (Playgroup), and Birds And Other Things I Am Afraid Of (The Arches/Poorboy).
Lynda received Scotsman Fringe First Awards for Futureproof and The Interference. The Interference was shortlisted for the Amnesty International Freedom of Expression Award. Lynda is a board member of The Playwrights’ Studio Scotland.
Michael John McCarthy
Music and Lyrics
Michael John McCarthy is a musician, sound designer & composer for stage & screen.
He has worked on over 80 theatrical productions, including ten Scotsman Edinburgh Fringe First award winners, most recently The Last Return by Druid Theatre Company. He is also the musical supervisor & co-sound designer on Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of), winner of the 2022 Olivier Award for Best Entertainment or Comedy Play.
Other theatre credits include:The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart (Royal Exchange Theatre); NORA: A Doll's House (Young Vic/Citizens Theatre); Jimmy's Hall (Abbey Theatre); Tay Bridge, August: Osage County, George's Marvellous Medicine, The Cheviot, The Stag & The Black, Black Oil, The BFG, Steel Magnolias (Dundee Repertory Theatre)
His band Album Club released their debut LP on Last Night From Glasgow in May 2022. It reached #6 in the UK Vinyl Albums chart, & #2 in the Scottish Albums chart, spending 6 weeks in the Top 100.
Jemima Levick
Director
Jemima trained at Queen Margaret University College Edinburgh and on a Scottish Arts Council Directors Bursary. In 2021 she was appointed Artistic Director of A Play, a Pie and a Pint, the UK’s most prolific producer of new plays. Between 2016-21 she was Artistic Director and Chief Executive of Stellar Quines Theatre Company, and prior to that, she was Associate and latterly Artistic Director of Dundee Rep between 2009 - 2016. She has won and been nominated for a number of awards and has directed more than 40 professional productions in theatres across Scotland. Her recent credits include Maggie May for Leeds Playhouse, Leicester Curve & Queens Hornchurch, Sally, SCOTS, Man’s Best Friend and The Joke for A Play, a Pie and a Pint, and episodes of River City for BBC Studios.
Kenneth MacLeod
Set and Costume Designer
Recent credits Spring Awakening, Chess, Cabaret, West Side Story (Royal Conservatoire of Scotland), Oor Wullie, The Yellow On The Broom, The Maids (Dundee Rep), The Metamorphosis (Vanishing Point), The Dark Carnival (Vanishing Point/Citizens Theatre), The Stamping Ground (Raw Material/Eden Court), Echoes In The Night, The Outsider (Carnival/Cunard), Don’t. Make. Tea. (Birds of Paradise), Bright Young Things, Time & Motion (National Youth Ballet) Rapunzel, Chick Whittington (MacRobert Arts Centre).As Associate Designer: Bedknobs & Broomsticks (Disney/MH) and Flight (Vox Motus).Kenneth is a graduate of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and The California Institute Of The Arts.
Tom Penny
Sound Designer
Tom Penny is an international freelance sound designer and sound technician working across film, theatre, and TV. He is currently touring with the Hofesh Shechter dance company. Previously, he was Head of Sound and Video for Dundee Rep and Scottish Dance Theatre, with credits for A Christmas Carol (Sound Designer), The Children (Sound Designer), Wings Around Dundee (Sound Designer), also overseeing filmed theatre projects Smile and Islander produced in lockdown.
Film credits include Sunshine Periphery and The Mug (Sound Designer and Location Sound), The Farm (BBC - Location Sound), Stunners (BBC - Location Sound) and numerous commercials.
Vicki Manderson
Movement Director
Vicki trained as a dancer at The SSCD Dundee and London Contemporary Dance School. She is the co-founder of Scottish-based theatre company, groupwork.
Credits as Movement Director include: The Hope River Girls, The Afflicted (groupwork), Burn, Orphans, The Enemy, The 306 Trilogy, (NTS), Light Falls, Queen Margaret, (Royal Exchange Theatre), Wings Around Dundee (Dundee Rep), Last Orders at the Dockside (Abbey Theatre), Companion, Moon (Coney), Square Go (Francesca Moody Productions), Br’er Cotton (Theatre 503), Ear for Eye, Instructions for Correct Assembly, The Children (Royal Court), Cockpit (Edinburgh Lyceum, See Me Now (Young Vic);
Previous TV and Film work includes Swirl (Random Acts).
Isaac Savage
Musical Director
Isaac is a Glasgow-based actor-musician, musical director and composer. He is one half of the award-winning musical theatre writing duo, O’Neill & Savage, whose shows include: Tanya and Bon Appétit (Royal Conservatoire of Scotland), the song cycle Belongings (The Minster School, Southwell) and The Great Elf Escape: LIVE (Fearless Players/The Ayr Gaiety). The duo were also finalists in the Stiles & Drewe Best New Song Prize 2020 and most recently, were supported by RCS and the Dundee Rep in workshopping their two-hander musical, Stay.
He is also the resident composer and sound designer for Hello Little People, a children’s theatre company based on the Isle of Man. Credits include: A Beg Adventure, Freaky Folklore, Juan and the Beanstalk, The Twits and Cinderfella Yessir.
Michael Howell
Casting Director
Michael is a Glasgow based Casting Director. Recent theatre work as Casting Director includes: Kidnapped (National Theatre of Scotland), Hindu Times (Edinburgh International Festival), Wings Around Dundee, A Christmas Carol, The Steamie, Cinderella (Dundee Rep), Don Quixote (Dundee Rep Theatre & Perth Theatre), Still Game: Live (Phil McIntyre Entertainments/SEE Hydro), Measure For Measure(Dundee Rep), Oor Wullie (Dundee Rep/Selladoor Worldwide), This is a Love Story (Dundee Rep).
As Associate Casting Director (at James Orange Casting): Frozen (Disney) Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, On The Town(Hyogo Performing Arts Centre, Japan) and Dr Doolittle (Music & Lyrics) UK Tour.
Ewan Donald
Assistant Director
An Edinburgh Christmas Carol, The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe (Lyceum Theatre)The Steamie, The Bookies, A Christmas Carol,Tay Bridge, All My Sons,Gagarin Way, The 39 Steps, Passing Places, August: Osage County, The Resistable Rise of Arturo Ui, Death of a Salesman, George’s Marvellous Medicine, The Cheviot, the Stag and the Black, Black Oil, Much Ado About Nothing, Love Song, Witness for the Prosecution, Sunshine on Leith, A Midsummer Nights Dream, The Talented Mr Ripley, The Graduate, Macbeth (Dundee Rep) Dunsinane (National Theatre of
Scotland//RSC) The Three Sisters, An Imagined Sahara, An Arab Woman Speaks, Ramallah (Tron Theatre) King Lear (Citizens Theatre) The Prince: the Johnny Thomson Story (ATG) Midsummer (Traverse Theatre) Wake Me in the Morning, Saint One, Saint
Catherines Day, Baltamire, The Seagull (Play a Pie and a Pint)The Not-So-Fatal Deal of Grandpa Fredo (Vox Motus) Walden (Magnetic North) Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Mother Goose, The Odd Couple, Death of a Salesman, Proof, Sinbad and the Lost Princess, The Little Foxes (Perth Theatre)
Other Credits
Directing credits include A-Z of Dundee (Dundee Rep). Assistant Director Cinderella (Dundee Rep)
CAST
Hannah Visocchi
Ella
Hannah’s screen credits include: Ornamental (Kick the Door).
Theatre credits include: Thread the Musical (Kick the Door); Metamorphosis (Vanishing Point); Peter Gynt (National Theatre); Cinderfella (Tron Theatre); Sunday in the Park with George and Bat Boy (both Royal Conservatoire of Scotland) with directors Dougie Irvine and Alexandra Spencer-Jones.
Annie Louise Ross
Lenore
Ann Louise has worked extensively in theatre for over 40 years, and has been a member of Dundee Rep Ensemble for over 20 years now.
Her previous work for Dundee Rep include: Wings Around Dundee, Oor Wullie, The Snow Queen, The Yellow on The Broom, The 39 Steps, Spring Awakening, A Christmas Carol, The Maids, August: Osage County, Death of a Salesman, The Resistable Rise of Arturo Ui, Much Ado About Nothing, Little Red and The Wolf, and many more. Ann Louise won a CATS Award for Best Female Performance for her role in Further Than The Furthest Thing, also with Dundee Rep Ensemble. Ann Louise has recently worked with the National Theatre London and Edinburgh International Festival on a production Peter Gynt.
Ann Louise’s television and film credits include: Trainspotting, The Acid House Trilogy, The Key, The Bill, Rebus, Hamish Macbeth, River City, as well as numerous radio broadcasts. Ann Louise plays Grannie Island in the hit CBeebies children’s story Katie Morag, winner of the Scottish BAFTA for Best Children’s Programme.
Leah Byrne
Florence
Leah's stage credits include: A Potted Christmas Carol, Oor Wullie, A-Z of Dundee and Tay Bridge, all for Dundee Rep; San Diego; Humbug!; The Breathing House; Orpheus & Eurydice; Strucken Moon; Julius Caesar; Philistines; Middletown; The Big Adventure (all Royal Conservatoire of Scotland); Whose Shoes? and Freckleface Strawberry: The Musical (both SYT Productions); and Killing Me Softly (Glasgay Productions/SYT Productions).
Recent screen work includes: Dog Squad (BBC); Flaps (Comedy Central); Deadwater Fell (Kudos/Channel 4); the feature The Last Bus; and the Christmas Special of Call the Midwife (Sea-Saw Films/BBC). Other television and radio credits include: Fried, Footballer's United and Whenever I Get Blown Up I Think of You (all BBC).
Radio includes: Cross Roads and The Positive (both for Baker Street Productions); Whenever I Get Blown Up I Think of You (BBC).
Adam Greene
Laurence
Adam Greene is an actor, writer and musician who has an HND in Stage and Screen performance from Acting Coach Scotland. He recently finished a development with Kick The Door on the new musical Thread.
Other credits include: Eric in Eric The Elf’s Chaotic Christmas (Macrobert Arts Centre), Various in Pride Plays (Shift/Traverse Theatre), The Storyteller in Kith (Primal Dream), and James in The Edge of You (OffKilter). Film/TV Credits include: Matthew in Derek (Advert) (Road Safety Scotland/ Greenroom Films), Connor in Dash (Blazing Griffin Studios/ BBC Scotland) and Ryan in Dark Road (SFTN).
Jatinder Singh Randhawa
Liam
Jatinder Singh Randhawa is an actor from Glasgow his credits include:
Theatre: Moorcroft, Tron Theatre, Peter Gynt, National Theatre, The Arrival, Solar Bear, Cinderella, Citizens Theatre, Snowflake, Pleasance Theatre.
Film and TV: The Control Room, BBC, Courier Culture, BBC Scotland/NTS, The Nest, BBC, Shepard, Castle Valley film/ GC Films, Scots Squad BBC Scotland.
Jatinder will also appear on Crime Season 2
John Macaulaey
Apollo King
John Macaulay studied at Welsh College of Music and Drama. Theatre work includes: The Comedy of Errors (Citizens Theatre), Fatal Attraction (Ambassadors Theatre Group), Richard III, Romeo and Juliet (Shakespeare's Rose Theatre), Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, The Merry Wives of Windsor (Royal Shakespeare Company), The Sunnyside Centre (The Village Pub Theatre), August:Osage County, Great Expectations, Cinderella, The Witches, Midsummer, The Cheviot, The Stag and The Black Black Oil, Equus, Macbeth (Dundee Rep Theatre), Life is a Dream: Alice in Wonderland, To Kill a Mockingbird, Of Mice and Men (Royal Lyceum Edinburgh)
Television work include: Waterloo Road, Burnistoun, Gary Tank Commander, M.I. High, Single Father, Still Game, Jess the Border Collie, River City, Suspect, Rockface, Suspect, and English Express (BBC).
Radio includes: On the Skids, A Second Life, All at Sea (BBC Scotland)
Emily Winter
Cora
Emily has worked at Dundee Rep Theatre for 22 years. Productions include: Don Quixote - Man of Clackmannanshire, A Christmas Carol, Wings Around Dundee, Tay Bridge, Passing Places, The 39 Steps, August: Osage County, The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, Peer Gynt (The Barbican), The Cheviot The Stag and the Black Black Oil (Scottish tour), Titus Andronicus, Much Ado About Nothing, Love Song, Witness For The Prosecution, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Sunshine On Leith (Scottish tour), Flora the Red Menace (Scottish tour), Sweeney Todd, Gypsy, Cabaret (Scottish tour), A Doll’s House, The Elephant Man and Anna Karenina amongst many others.
She has worked for The Lyceum, Eden Court, National Theatre of Scotland and Golden Age Theatre Company.
Emily also directed the Rep’s Shape of a Girl, assistant directed Gagarin Way and who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and was a resident director on tour with Oor Wullie.
Sebastian Lim Seet
Rightie
Training include: Sebastian is in his final year at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland studying Musical Theatre.
Sebastian also holds first-class honours in Music from the University of Aberdeen.
Theatre credits include: Scots (A Play, A Pie and A Pint), Company (Royal Conservatoire of Scotland) and Jekyll & Hyde (Edinburgh Festival Fringe).
Karen Young
Leftie
Karen is an actor and multi-instrumentalist from Aberdeenshire. She trained at The Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts in acting, where she was a finalist for the Spotlight prize in her final year. This is Karen’s first time performing at Dundee Rep. Her credits include
Theatre: Macca and Beth (Liverpool’s Royal Court), Witch Hunt (Ten Feet Tall), Thread (Kick the door R&D), Wicked Women (Tmesis Theatre), Pig (Liverpool's Royal Court), Goldilocks and the Three Bears (Hiccup theatre/Derby Theatre).
Television: Coronation Street (ITV Studios), Funny Woman (Sky TV /Potboiler Productions).
Stephanie Cremona
Musician and Swing
Stephanie trained at Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts and graduated with BA (Hons) in Actor Musicianship in 2019. Theatre credits include: Ensemble/Swing in A Christmas Carol (Dundee Rep Theatre) and Bonny in Me And The Girls (UK Tour). Roles whilst training include: Good Joe in Our House, Marian Paroo in The Music Man, Helena in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Helicanus in Pericles, 1 Shot Jimmy in Dead Dog In A Suitcase and Maggie in The Matchgirls.
ABOUT DUNDEE REP THEATRE AND SCOTTISH DANCE THEATRE
The story of Dundee Rep and Scottish Dance Theatre is one of its people: its artists, creatives, staff, participants and audiences.
Dundee Rep and Scottish Dance Theatre sits at the cultural heart of Dundee as a centre of creative excellence. The Organisation looks outwards, creating and delivering work for local, national and international audiences, with learning at the heart. “The Rep” recently celebrated its 80th anniversary and is home to the Dundee Rep Ensemble, the only permanent full-time company of its kind in Scotland. Scottish Dance Theatre is one of the few full-time companies in the UK and is made up of nine inquisitive and versatile dancers who have come from all over the world to work and create in our home at Dundee Rep. Together these twin ensembles have created a number of award-winning productions, made in Dundee that tour nationally and internationally; establishing a reputation as one of the UK’s leaders in theatre and dance production, carrying the Dundee brand far and wide.
Dundee Rep Ensemble has created a number of award-winning and award-nominated productions, including the world premiere of ‘Let the Right One In’, ‘The Cheviot, The Stag and The Black, Black Oil’, the Scottish premiere of Pulitzer Prize-winning ‘August: Osage County’, and the 80th Anniversary season world premiere of Peter Arnott’s ‘Tay Bridge’.
Working at the forefront of the art form, Scottish Dance Theatre collaborates with internationally acclaimed choreographers and artists, supports the development of emerging and home-grown talent and promotes a plurality of voices. With more than 30 years of history, the company has developed a distinctive identity that brings together artistic integrity and social commitment, reaching a wide range of audiences and communities locally, nationally and across the world. Scottish Dance Theatre has received multiple awards, including the Critics’ Circle National Dance Award for Outstanding Company Repertoire, and has built a strong international profile, becoming Scotland’s flagship contemporary dance company.
At the heart of the Dundee Rep and Scottish Dance Theatre vision is the belief that artistic and creative experience of the highest quality should be open and available to all. The Organisation has an extensive engagement programme working with people of all ages both within the building and in formal and informal learning contexts across Scotland and internationally.
Over the course of eight decades, Dundee Rep and Scottish Dance Theatre has been at the heart of performance in Scotland, and grown into a world-class organisation, with two artistic forces based in Dundee, travelling to and reaching the rest of the world.
