Cinderella set to enchant audiences at Shakespeare North Playhouse

Cinderella is preparing to enchanting family audiences at Shakespeare North Playhouse this Christmas – and today the full cast for the award-winning theatre’s spellbinding seasonal show has been revealed.

Tia Larsen takes the title role in the fairytale favourite which is being given a very special Prescot twist in a captivating new adaptation by writer Nick Lane.

And she will be joined on the Cockpit Theatre stage by Emma Grace Arends, Emma Bispham, Thomas Cotran, Elliott Kingsley and Charlie Mae McKevitt.

Cinderella runs from Friday, 21 November to Saturday, 10 January 2026. Tickets are on sale now with a special ‘early bird’ offer until 8 August.

In the Kingdom of Prescotisia lives a young woman called Cinderella, whose world is turned upside down when her beloved mother suddenly disappears, and her father remarries. Even worse, it turns out Cinders’ new stepmother, Filania, is awful – and so are her two dreadful daughters!

When Prince Flarf of Crosbinia decides to throw a huge party, they are determined to be celebrated as the belles of the ball while Cinderella is left home alone.

But all is not lost because happily, help is at hand in the form of Fairy 23780, better known as Mandy, who is fresh from Fairy Godmother school and excited to be able to assist Cinderella to find her missing mum AND win the heart of the handsome prince to boot. Or rather, glass slipper.

Cinderella is the most popular fairytale of them all.

And packed with magical moments, favourite tunes, lots of laughs and a heartwarming message about family, friendship and self-discovery, this new production is the perfect family show for the festive season.

Tia Larsen returns to the Cockpit stage at Shakespeare North after appearing as swing in Alice in Wonderland last Christmas, where the versatile and talented young actor impressed audiences and critics alike, performing a variety of key roles during the run.

The Rose Bruford College Wigan graduate’s other stage credits include Vignettes at Hope Mill Theatre, The Incident (M6 Theatre Company), Approved (SJT theatre) and Den Festival Manchester and the Royal Exchange.

Emma Grace Arends is Mandy the Fairy. Emma’s theatre credits include The Duchess of Malfi (Greenwich Theatre), The Scouse Jack and the Beanstalk, Scouse Dick Whittington and The Legend of Rooney’s Ring at Liverpool’s Royal Court, Home, I’m Darling (Frinton Summer Theatre), Much Ado About Nothing/Romeo and Juliet for Folksy Theatre, Twopence to Cross the Mersey and Her Benny at the Liverpool Empire and Sleeping Beauty at M&S Bank Arena.

She is also well-known to young audience members through her roles in the UK tour of Peppa Pig’s Big Surprise, and on the big screen in Peppa Pig My First Cinema Experience – Daisy Sky.

Emma Bispham is Filania. Her stage credits include Blood Brothers (Phoenix Theatre), Taboo in the West End, on tour and in a 20^th anniversary concert at the London Palladium, Macca and Beth, A Thong for Europe, Sisters of Mersey, The Scouse Sleeping Beauty and The Scouse Snow White, all at Liverpool’s Royal Court, Bad Girls – the Musical at West Yorkshire Playhouse and Closer Than Ever (Liverpool Everyman).

As a member of the Everyman Rep Company, she appeared in Paint Your Wagon, The Big I Am and Othello, while she also recently played Goop and Hairy McFairy in the Everyman Rock ‘n’ Roll Panto Rapunzel.

Thomas Cotran returns to Shakespeare North Playhouse after appearing as Berowne in Love’s Labour’s Lost earlier this year. Here he will play Prince Flarf.

Among his other stage credits are One Man, Two Guvnors at The New Vic, Song of the Sytch for Claybody Theatre, The Great Gatsby and A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre, The Snow Queen for Wrongsemble/The Albany Theatre, Footloose (UK tour), You Can Bet It’s Christmas for Slung Low, and Raising Agents, Red Sky at Night, Atlanta Forever and A Dogs Tale (all Mikron Theatre Company).

In September he will be in the world premiere of The Grand Babylon Hotel at the New Vic in Newcastle-under-Lyme.

Elliott Kingsley will appear as King Dean. Elliott trained through the YEP programme at Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse and was part of the Everyman’s Rep Company where he performed in Fiddler on the Roof, The Story Giant and Romeo and Juliet.

His other stage credits include Boys from the Blackstuff at the National Theatre and London’s Garrick Theatre, The Tempest at Royal and Derngate in Northampton, The Wonderful World of Dissocia at Liverpool Playhouse and Drag Nativity at Storyhouse in Chester. He previously performed at Shakespeare North Playhouse in Ira Aldridge: Story Adventure.

And Charlie Mae McKevitt makes her Shakespeare North Playhouse debut as walking understudy. Last season she appeared in the Further Adventures of Peter Pan at the Floral Pavilion.

All other roles will be played by members of the cast.

Cinderella is directed by Nicole Behan who returns to Shakespeare North Playhouse for a second Christmas after acting as Associate Director for last season’s production of Alice in Wonderland.

Nicole is artistic director of Paperwork Theatre which recently developed Lovestruck, an immersive multi-location production which toured to the Liverpool Everyman, Storyhouse and Shakespeare North Playhouse.

Her other directing credits include Pass the Parcel and Stocking Fillers (Liverpool’s Royal Court), My Beautiful Laundrette (Leicester Curve and National Theatre Theatre Nations tour), Come Closer: Memories of Partition (Royal Exchange), Qualified (Hope Mill), You, Me & the Goalpost at Bolton Octagon, and Northern Flight and Deep Blue, both at the Liverpool Everyman. Along with Alice in Wonderland, her associate director credits include Red or Dead at Liverpool’s Royal Court and Ghost Caller for Headlong.

Assistant director is Kate Treadell, while the creative team also includes Abigail Middleton as movement director and choreographer and Rob Green as composer and musical director, with set and costumes by Chloe Wynn and sound design from Ernest Acquah.

Cinderella is produced by Shakespeare North Playhouse and is the Prescot theatre’s fourth Christmas show since it opened its doors in July 2022.

Lisa Allen, CEO and Creative Director at Shakespeare North Playhouse, said: “Cinderella holds a special place in the hearts of so many, and we’re thrilled to be giving it a unique Prescot twist this Christmas. With Nick Lane’s adaptation, a cast brimming with talent, and Nicole Behan at the helm, audiences can expect a show that’s packed with laughter and holiday magic.

“We can’t wait to welcome families and festive theatre lovers of all ages to share in this joyful show at Shakespeare North Playhouse.”

Book on the website on shakespearenorthplayhouse.co.uk