HAVING A BALL IN LONDON’S WEST END CARRIE HOPE FLETCHER ON PLAYING A CINDERELLA WITH ATTITUDE TO INSPIRE A NEW GENERATION
‘The prince loves Cinderella for who she is. That’s a wonderful message for young girls’
Carrie Hope Fletcher is living proof that modern fairytales really can come true.
The 28-year-old actress and singer is taking the West End by storm in the title role of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s lavish new musical, Cinderella, written with a unique twist by Oscar-winner Emerald Fennell.
As we catch up with Carrie in our magical photoshoot against the sumptuous backdrop of Chiswick House in West London, the excited star exclusively tells hello! how playing the lead in this re-boot of the classic rags-to-riches story has been her childhood dream.
“I’ve always been a huge Disney fan and loved visiting palaces as a child with my mum,” she says. “So I’m thrilled to be playing Cinderella, especially as she’s so different to any Disney princess we’ve ever known.”
REBEL WITH A CAUSE
As a “bad-ass” Cinderella with attitude who rebels against the bland, identikit idea of beauty that surrounds her, Carrie wears black dresses, Doc Martens and black nail polish.
“I’m a big Tim Burton fan, so this feels like the perfect mash-up between the gothic themes I loved growing up, mixed with a Disney princess vibe. I still get to wear a beautiful ballgown and magnificent wig, so I’m blessed with the best of both worlds,” she says ahead of the world premiere at the Gillian Lynne Theatre on 14 July.
“My favourite scene is where I make my entrance and get thrown around the stage. Cinderella has graffitied a statue and everyone is angry. It’s like that moment in Beauty and the Beast where the whole town hunts down the Beast.
“There’s no pumpkin in this version, but we still have the ugly
sisters, wicked stepmother, glass slippers and a big fancy royal ball.”
The fairy godmother and godfather who waved their magic wands to make this eagerly-awaited multi-million production happen are musical impresario Andrew and actress, director and writer Emerald, fresh from winning the Best Original Screenplay Oscar for Promising Young Woman (she was also nominated for Best Director).
The duo teamed up two years ago after Andrew spoke about his desire to create a different version of Cinderella at a mutual friend’s dinner party.
A TWIST IN THE TALE
Emerald – who has also written for hit series Killing Eve and who in her role as a young Camilla Parker Bowles in The Crown captured a real prince’s heart – said the problem with the story was that it relied on a makeover to make a woman lovable. So they turned the classic fairytale on its head and invited Carrie to a Cinderella workshop. “At first I had no idea what it was, but when I was invited to be a voice on Andrew Lloyd Webber’s project, I was like: ‘Sure thing, I’ll be there,’” she says. “As I walked into his office, Emerald got in the lift with me. I thought: ‘OMG it’s Patsy from Call the Midwife.’ I’m such a fan. When she said: ‘Oh you’re Carrie,’ I was like: ‘How do you know my name?’ ‘You’re working with us today,’ she said.
“I recorded three songs and a month later was asked to do the workshop. You always hope something might materialise, but I’ve done them before and was just the voice for whoever got the part.”
Three days later, Carrie got her “you shall go to the ball” moment. While enjoying a barbecue with her older brother, McFly’s Tom Fletcher, and his wife Giovanna, she got the call telling her that Andrew wanted her for the title role. “I started sobbing with happiness. Tom was like: ‘Are you okay?’ Then we cracked open the prosecco.”
Working with the West End legend and Emerald has been one of the best experiences of Carrie’s life.
“I can’t believe my luck,” she says. “Emerald is one of the nicest, most beautiful women I’ve ever met. She’s heavily pregnant and ready to pop but comes to rehearsals every day and tells us we’re amazing. When she changes a line it’s pure genius.
“Andrew is humble and kind and full of fascinating stories. I couldn’t believe it when I went to his house and he stood there with a kettle asking if I’d like a cup of tea.
‘You should never take criticism from people you would never go to for advice’
“Throughout the pandemic he’s said: ‘We’re getting this show on the road come hell or high water.’ Now we have.”
The moral behind this Cinderella, Carrie tells hello!, has never before been more of the moment and one she can personally relate to. “She lives in a town where the women are constantly striving for a physical ideal; they dye their hair the same shade of blonde and have Botox before their morning coffee.
“But she sees how miserable it makes them and rejects that you have to look a certain way to be loved – and so do I.”
CHANGING THE NARRATIVE
With more pressure than ever on women and girls to change the way they look, Carrie has herself been subjected to cruel comments about her figure.
When playing Eponine in Les Misérables, she says a member of the creative team told her on opening night: “We’ve never had an Eponine quite so butch before. You’ll need to cover up your arms because they’re really not doing you any favours.”
“I was in tears,” she says. “It really affected me; you start to fall apart and question everything about yourself. Luckily, I have a supportive family and network of friends around me, and if anyone spoke to me like that now I’d call them out.”
Carrie was also trolled on social media by a girl who told her she had “fat legs”.
“I’ve grown a thick skin,” she says. “My motto is you should never take criticism from people you would never go to for advice. My mum is the first person who tells me to shut out that kind of negativity. But there are young people who don’t have that support.”
She is delighted that this Cinderella reverses the belief that you have to change your appearance to be loved.
“When Cinderella tries to look different to make the prince love her, it doesn’t work,” she says. “He loves her for who she is in the first place. That’s a wonderful message for young girls.”
Carrie’s love interest on stage is Prince Charming’s younger brother, Prince Sebastian, played by West End newcomer Ivano Turco.
“He’s one of the most gorgeous people I’ve ever met,”
‘I’m living my best life’
she says, adding with a laugh how his part was described to her like this: “If Prince Charming is Prada, Sebastian is Primark – but our Cinderella prefers Primark!”
Her real- life prince is her boyfriend Oliver Ormson, who is to play Prince Hans in the West End musical Frozen. The couple met on a 2017 tour of The Addams Family and moved in together just before lockdown.
“We’re really happy,” she smiles. “We have dinner, binge watch TV, and enjoy time apart, too. Oli plays football and I’m a bookworm. He’s a whizz in the kitchen, too, a big Gordon Ramsay fan. While I’m rehearsing he makes me delicious dinners. I’ve been spoilt.”
CRYING GAME
The 31-year-old actor, who has, like Carrie, been waiting for theatres to re- open, becomes emotional every time he watches his girlfriend perform.
“He’s not much of a crier, but whenever he sees me on stage he bursts into tears,” she says. “When I played Fantine in Les Mis he was a mess. Mind you, I cried when I saw him in High Fidelity – he was amazing. We’d love to perform together again.” If Carrie’s track record is anything to go by, her wish will probably be granted. Her star has been rising since she made her West End debut at the age of nine in Les Misérables before going on to star in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Mary Poppins.
Big brother Tom, 35, played fairy godfather to help her on her way. When Carrie was being bullied at primary school, he paid for her to attend a private college with a performing arts centre.
“Some classmates thought it was unfair that I could miss school to star in shows,” she says. “Tom was protective and wanted to get me into a happier environment.”
Carrie has been sprinkling her fairy dust on other projects, too. After her sister-inlaw Giovanna encouraged her to take up running, she began training for a marathon last October.
She has also written her first children’s book, Into the Spotlight and her fifth novel With This Kiss is due for release next year.
It seems she has Hollywood at her feet, too. Mia Farrow and Russell Crowe both tweeted praise after watching clips from Cinderella.
“When Russell tweeted my name I thought: ‘I’ll take that, thank you,’” she laughs. “I’m absolutely overjoyed and living my best life.”
‘This Cinderella rejects that you
have to look a
certain way to be loved — and so do I’
‘Andrew is humble and kind. I couldn’t believe it when I went to his house and he stood there with a kettle asking if I’d like a cup of tea’