Charles Perrault. “The Crystal Slipper”
Age recommendation: 5+
Author: Charles Perrault
Stage adaptation and production director: Ayla Osmanova
Set designer: Mustafa Mustafayev
Movement and physical staging: Jeyhun Dadashov
Principal cast: Asya Atakishiyeva, Khalida Alimammadova, Hokuma Rahimzade, Khayala Gasimova, Rashad Safarov, Umman Budagov, Adalat Abdulsamad, Gular Nabiyeva (Honoured Artist), Ramig Nasirov, Natig Farzaliyev, Yusif Dadashov
Genre: Fairy-tale play
Running time: 50 minutes
Children all over the world have a beloved fairy-tale heroine: Cinderella. Beautiful and kind-hearted, she is also a very hardworking girl. Her father is a woodcutter, and she loses her mother at a very young age. Her father later marries a woman who has a daughter of her own. From the very beginning, her stepmother treats Cinderella cruelly and makes her do all the household chores. Not wanting to worry her father, Cinderella patiently tries to carry out every task as well as she can. Yet no matter what she does, she can never satisfy her stepmother.
In the kingdom where Cinderella lives, the king’s son wishes to marry a girl of his own choosing. To find a suitable bride, a grand ball is organised, to which all unmarried girls over the age of sixteen are invited. Cinderella’s stepmother piles work upon her and leaves for the celebration with her own daughters. Upset by this unfair treatment, Cinderella begins carrying out her stepmother’s orders with tears in her eyes.
Suddenly, a miracle occurs: her fairy godmother appears. Using her magic, she takes care of all Cinderella’s chores. She then transforms Cinderella’s clothes into a beautiful gown, gives her a pair of crystal slippers and prepares a horse-drawn carriage for her. At the same time, the fairy warns Cinderella: “You must return home before midnight, or all the magic will disappear, and everyone will recognise you.”
As soon as Cinderella enters the ballroom, everyone is captivated by her beauty and dancing. The prince falls in love with her and decides to marry her. When the clock strikes and reminds Cinderella that it is time to leave, she hurries away from the celebration. In her haste, one of her crystal slippers is left behind.
The prince decides to find Cinderella using the slipper. However, even at this moment, her stepmother refuses to abandon her schemes. Determined at all costs to have the prince marry one of her own daughters, she continues her deceitful attempts. But the wise prince realises that Cinderella is the true owner of the slipper and marries her.
Cinderella becomes a symbol of kindness, while the stepmother represents deceit and malice. Through this enchanting fairy tale, children are encouraged to embrace perseverance, honesty and loyalty.
