Interview with Cinderella’s Carrie Hope Fletcher

Posted on 13 November 2020

Musical theatre fans rejoiced when Carrie Hope Fletcher was announced to be playing the title role in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s new musical Cinderella. Fletcher has treaded the boards since she was a child and has starred in various productions in the West End and across the UK. Her incredible voice paired with the composition of ALW is guaranteed to be a match made in musical theatre heaven. For a teaser of what’s to come, you can listen to the recently released single “Bad Cinderella” here.

In anticipation of the upcoming retelling of Cinderella, we asked the star Carrie Hope Fletcher herself, some stagey questions, all about the show and the reopening of theatres. See what she had to say below.

Q&A with Carrie Hope Fletcher

1. Cinderella is a story that has been retold numerous times; what is it that excites you about this retelling?

This retelling has taken all the parts of the Cinderella story we know and love and completely turned them on their heads.

2. You have the opportunity to work with an A-list creative team; how has it been working with them so far?

It’s been incredible to be in the room as they’re working. Seeing their process and how their minds work individually and as a team is fascinating.

3. How did you feel when you found out you’d be playing the title role in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cinderella?

I cried! Being in a West End show is a big deal anyway but this is an Andrew Lloyd Webber original West End show so I’m still pinching myself.

4. What excites you the most about the reopening of theatres?

Being back in a room with theatrical people, doing what I love and seeing the audience react to shows differently now that we’ve been away for so long. I think theatre lovers are going to be even more enthusiastic about theatre when we’re finally allowed to reopen!

5. Are you more excited to get back on stage or be a part of an audience again?

Can I say both? I can’t wait to be back in a costume performing but I also can’t wait to see all the shows I never got to see before COVID hit.

6. What do you think we can take away from this time of theatres being closed?

Just how vital the arts are to the economy but to our lives as well. I feel like my life is nowhere near as bright or as enriched without theatre.

7. Back to Cinderella, any stories or insights from rehearsals or zoom calls as you begin to piece the show together? Any highlights so far so early on?

We had a socially distanced album listening the other week at the Palladium and it was the first time we had all been in a room together. We didn’t get to mingle and chat to everyone as we would have done had we not been in the middle of a pandemic, but it was a really special moment to have everyone together under one roof!

8. And to summarise, why should people come and see Cinderella at the Gillian Lynne Theatre?

Not only will it be a huge deal because it’ll be one of the first big shows to open in 2021, but it’s also an amazing show. The core message is to remain true to yourself no matter how much people try to change you and in a time when we constantly compare ourselves to filtered, altered photos of someone else’s highlight reel on Instagram, it’s a message that I think really needs to be heard by a younger generation.

ALW’s Cinderella is coming to the West End’s Gillian Lynne Theatre in Spring 2021. You can book your tickets now or buy as a gift! Tickets for Cinderella will make the perfect stagey Christmas gift.

🎫 Book your Cinderella tickets here.

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By Jade Ali

A love for theatre stemmed from my love of literature and music, but the West End on my doorstep opened up a whole new appreciation and passion for all things stage-y