entertaining, thrilling and moving tale
What was particularly interesting about this version of Cinderella was that in the first instance, it was told from the Fairy Godmother's honest and frank perspective. The observations made were quick witted and at times sarcastic, which made the tale extremely entertaining and engaging, as well as added other layers to it. Especially when she portrayed all the characters she came across as alternatives to their traditional versions - from Cindy the 'street' girl to the drag queen Ugly Step-Sister. This added a different dynamic that not only made us look at fairy-tales in a different way, but made us aware that when we really look underneath the surface, we may not always like what we see.
It needs to be noted here that A Trans Fairy Tale is not for those who are triggered by themes examined here, such as transphobia or physical and mental abuse (as also pre-warned by our narrator), but these themes were extremely sensitively explored in the writing and performance. Also, because the tale focused on our Fairy Godmother in particular, it was refreshing to see a take that shows that even Fairy Godmothers suffer - a lot of it in silence until now.
Cerys' portrayal of this role was comical, angry and emotional and really drew us in as she revealed her life as she granted wishes through her agency despite claiming she didn't have magical powers and (sometimes) rather reluctantly let us into tiny snippets of her life - for instance, how she stumbled across Cinderella behind Wetherspoons, drank her sorrows away and more. She also portrayed the other characters with ease and great comic physicality. Although it would have been nice to make sure some character voices had slightly more definition from her Fairy Godmother on the odd occasion, it was mesmerizing to watch as she transitioned from one to the other.
More interestingly though, A Trans Fairy Tale had another layer to it... the art of slowly breaking down deeply ingrained beliefs and focusing on self mental health care in an insightful and creative way. It not only changed how we see fairytales, but made us believe in ourselves as people again when we released our own inner magic.
