CINDERELLA AT THE ROYAL OPERA HOUSE

To celebrate the seventy-fifth anniversary of Royal Ballet Founding Choreographer Frederick Ashton’s Cinderella, FRAY Studio planned and executed original designs video-mapped throughout the entire Covent Garden stage, which had been envisioned and arranged by Set Designer Tom Pye.

The FRAY team had previously collaborated with the Royal Ballet on Frankenstein and the Royal Opera on Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny. Comfortable in their workflow and specifically not trying to break any mould, the FRAY team decided to perfect what could be perfected in a classic show people have come to know and love.

As Tony- and Olivier-winning Video Designer and FRAY Co-Founder Finn Ross explained, “With Cinderella, audiences expect a beautiful fairytale event. People don’t come for a radical retelling but for the family Christmas favourite.” So they honed in on fine-tuning the details to ensure those audiences continued returning.

They used Notch to blend starry particle designs, snowflakes, floral arrangements, and other elements that highlighted the physicality of the stage and dancers. They aimed to make it all feel timeless and even analogue—blending past and present—and part of the stage rather than an added layer. The team used Disguise as their media server. Tatler deemed the show “unmissable.”

Additional press coverage:

Tatler, Daily Express, The Times.