Cinderella at the Royal Opera House

FRAY Studio brought elegant video design to the perennially adored Cinderella in celebration of seventy-five years since its first Royal Ballet staging.

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.”

“We went for a handmade feeling for this show, and Notch was integral in helping us avoid anything that might feel overtly digital. The final show had a sense of reality and plausibility we couldn’t have achieved otherwise.”

Finn Ross, Co-Founder & Video Designer, FRAY Studio

Additional press coverage:
Tatler, Daily Express, The Times.

Credits
Client: Royal Opera House/Royal Ballet
FRAY Team
Video Design: Finn Ross
Video Associates: Andrea Scott & Adam Young
Lead Animator: Letty Fox
Notch Artist: Grace Arnott-Hayes
Programmer: Dylan Marsh
System Engineers: Gareth Shelton & Roberto Esquenazi Alkabes

Creative Team
Choreography: Frederick Ashton
Music: Sergey Prokofiev
Staging: Wendy Ellis Somes & Gary Avis
Set Design: Tom Pye
Costume Design: Alexandra Byrne
Light Design: David Finn
Illusion: Chris Fisher