Cenușăreasa by Dumitru Capoianu, No (2024/2024), Režisēja Migry Avram Nicolau, Teatrul de Vară, Craiova, Romania

Cinderella (Cendrillon in French) is a popular fairy tale embodying the mythical element of unfair oppression, followed by triumph and reward. Thousands of versions of the fairy tale are known all over the world. The main character is a young girl experiencing an unhappy situation and whose fate changes. By analogy, the very word Cinderella has come to refer to “a person whose qualities are not recognised or are recognised after some time of obscurity and negligence”. The popular story of Cinderella influences international popular culture, as it is transposed to other artistic works through elements of action, suggestions and motifs. The oldest European version of this theme of Cinderella is the one entitled “La Gatta Cenerentola” or “Cinderella the Cat”, which appears in “Il Pentamerone, by Italian fairy tale collector Giambattista Basile in 1635. This lies at the basis of the subsequent versions published by French author Charles Perrault and the Grimm Brothers. (The fairy godmother is not present in the version of the Grimm Brothers, as the spirit of Cinderella’s mother is represented by two birds in the tree next to her tomb.) One of the most popular versions of the fairy tale is the one written by Charles Perrault in 1697. The popularity of the story is due to the fact that Perrault added the pumpkin, the fairy godmother and the glass shoes. English speakers mistakenly thought that in Perrault’s version Cinderella wore fur shoes (pantoufle en vair) and that, when the story was translated into English, vair (fur) was mistaken by verre (glass) and the story was left like this. The fur shoe theory was infirmed. Another famous version is the one written by brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm in the 19th century. The story is entitled “Aschenputtel”, and the help is provided by the tree on the mother’s tomb. In this version, the stepsisters try to trick the prince, cutting off parts of their feet in order to make the shoe fit. The prince is informed by two pigeons who take off the eyes of the stepsisters, turning them into blind beggars for the rest of their lives. The first moral of the story is that beauty is a treasure, but kindness is invaluable. Nothing is possible without it, while one can do everything with it. However, the second moral of the story somewhat diminishes the first one and reveals the criticisms envisaged by Perrault: “Another moral: it is undoubtedly a huge advantage to have intelligence, courage, education and common sense. Any many other similar qualities. Talents only come from above and it is good to have them. However, even when you have them, you may not have the expected success without the blessing of a godparent.” Across the years, the story of Cinderella has lied at the basis of notable works in fields such as opera, ice ballet, theatre, pantomime, film and television.