Scottish Ballet’s Cinders! returns with four love stories – including two same-sex couples
Soloist Grace Horler burst into tears at her first rehearsal as Princess Louise opposite a female Cinders – one of four pairings in Scottish Ballet’s revival, which opens in Edinburgh on 11 December.
Scottish Ballet‘s festive Cinders! returns next month with a twist on its twist.
When Christopher Hampson’s version of the Cinderella story opened in 2023, audiences didn’t know until the curtain rose whether they would see a female Cinders meet her Prince or a male Cinders meet his Princess. For the 2026 revival, which opens at the Festival Theatre in Edinburgh on 11 December before touring to Glasgow, Aberdeen and Inverness, there are four possible couples – and in two of them, Cinders falls for someone of the same gender.
The company says it is the first time it has put a same-gender couple in the leading roles of a festive production, and it believes no other ballet company has offered audiences a choice of versions in this way.
Four couples, one fairytale
Each performance will follow one of four formations:
- Cinders meets her Prince
- Cinders meets his Princess
- Cinders meets her Princess
- Cinders meets his Prince
Audiences can find out in advance which version they will see, Scottish Ballet will list the formation for each date, although a dancer’s illness or injury can mean a late change, or they can keep it a surprise. Edinburgh and Glasgow will see all four versions over the run; Aberdeen and Inverness get three each, because of logistics and the technical time available on stage.
Much of the choreography stays the same regardless of which couple is dancing, but some short sections change, and the company says it is enjoying exploring the nuances of movement and delivery each pairing brings out. Dancers and artistic staff have noticed how much the couple changes the mood of each version, with the scene in which the shoe is tried on proving particularly interesting. Some of the company’s queer dancers have compared Cinders’ arrival at the ball to a gay person experiencing a liberal, safe atmosphere for the first time.
‘Why wouldn’t we…?’
Hampson, Scottish Ballet’s CEO and artistic director, explained why the revival goes further than the original production:
Over the last few years, I have noticed how our productions are being enriched by bringing broader interpretations of classics. While some sceptics have countered that stories are perceived to be ‘ruined’, or ‘something special taken away’ (and these are just some of the more polite criticisms), this hasn’t been our experience. Quite the reverse. The stories have become richer, more interesting, and our audiences can’t get enough of them!
So, on approaching Cinders for a revival, the question arose, ‘Should we cast a male Cinders meeting his Prince and a female Cinders meeting her Princess?’ Ultimately, the real question is ‘Why wouldn’t we…?’
Since we’ve started creating the new versions, I’ve looked back with wonder to imagine what it would have meant to me, as a young person, seeing Cinders meet his Prince. I’m thankful we can see wonderfully diverse stories flourishing and these new stories aren’t about sadness or feeling left out. Instead, they are about honest emotions, sincerity and celebrating who we are. In each performance, one of four possible versions of the story will unfold – giving everyone the chance to discover their own ‘happily ever after’.
He sets out his thinking at greater length in an opinion piece, ‘Casting magic’, on the Scottish Ballet website, where he points out that he can’t think of a ballet for all ages that shows two mums, two dads or other kinds of family.
For Hampson, it is also personal. Most of his earlier ballets told love stories between a man and a woman, and he grew up at a time when same-sex relationships were largely invisible in the media.
Not the first role to change
The original Cinders!, with principal Bruno Micchiardi as the male Cinders and principal Jessica Fyfe as Princess Louise, had a critically acclaimed winter run in 2023, and Hampson says audience feedback was very positive.
It wasn’t the company’s first step away from traditional casting, either. In 2021 Madeline Squire was cast as Drosselmeyer in The Nutcracker, and the role is now open to any dancer. Dancers of any gender perform the Snow Wolves in Hampson’s The Snow Queen, although, because they wear masks, audiences may not notice.
‘I just burst into tears’
Soloist Grace Horler dances Princess Louise opposite a female Cinders. She described rehearsing the moment the two characters first see each other:
I don’t know if people realise the gravity of what we’re doing… I myself am part of the queer community; the other day, I had my first rehearsal and we did the scene where I, as Princess Louise, turn round and Cinders is there. It’s their first eye-contact moment, and I just burst into tears.
Yipeng Xu, a soloist who joined the company this year, dances as a male Cinders who falls in love with the Prince:
It’s such a privilege to tell this love story on stage, and as a queer man myself, it’s something I’ve dreamed of doing for a long time. I think it sends a beautiful message that love is love, regardless of who you are or who you love. Everyone deserves to find that and have their own happy ending.
The story
Hampson sets the tale at the turn of the 20th century in the family-run emporium where Cinders grows up. Life is sweet until tragedy leaves Cinders an orphan and the shop falls into the hands of the formidable Mrs Thorne and her three ghastly children, who treat Cinders with contempt and turn the store into a garish version of its former self. When a Royal Ball is announced, the Thornes’ frenzied preparations descend into chaos, while Cinders, taking refuge in an enchanted rose garden, is magically transformed and sets off to charm everyone at the ball.
The production is designed by Elin Steele, with video designs by Hayley Egan, and Prokofiev’s score is played live by the Scottish Ballet Orchestra.
Tour dates
- Festival Theatre, Edinburgh: 11–24 December 2026 (relaxed performance on Thursday 17 December at 2.30pm)
- Theatre Royal, Glasgow: 30 December 2026 – 16 January 2027
- His Majesty’s Theatre, Aberdeen: 20–23 January 2027
- Eden Court Theatre, Inverness: 27–30 January 2027
