Cinderella is currently the centre-piece of Christmas at the MAC Belfast and crowds have been falling in love with this unique and magical adaptation.
Co-produced by the MAC and award-winning children's theatre company, Cahoots, the show promises to be a heart-warming family adventure packed with magical moments, incredible illusions and stunning songs inspired by Mozart, reimagined in a new way.
Belfast Live caught up with some of the stars of the show to ask the burning questions about what it has been like behind the scenes of such a big production.
Review: Cinderella at the MAC is enchanting fun for the family this Christmas
We spoke to Corrie Early who plays Cinderella, Conor Quinn who plays Prince Sebastian and Catriona McFeely and Phillipa O'Hare who play Aloysia and Constanze, the 'ugly' Stepsisters.
Can you tell us about your character?
Cinderella
Corrie said: "My character is very feisty and at the start, we see her go through all the different emotions of meeting a new family and being accepted into a new family in her own household.
"She actually turns the ugly sisters - who are not ugly at all - into these characters to rebel against her.
"In the second part of the show, we see what we all expect Cinderella to be like - going to the ball and meeting her prince."
Aloysia
"At the top of the show, our mother remarries and that's how we end up being stepsisters with Cinderella so they are going through a tough time, we are going through a tough time that comes out with us being quite nasty to her and her giving it back to us," Catriona added.
"She's quite a sassy Cinderella which is good so while they can be quite mean to Cinderella, it becomes clear in the show and they go on a bit of a journey."
What is your favourite line in the show?
Prince Sebastian
Conor said: "My favourite line in the show is either Richard (Croxford) as King Leopold - every line he makes funny - I like when he says 'I'm about to upset you. Ready!'
"Or Jane (Wisener) as the Fairy Godmother when she says 'You are very hard work."
Constanze
Phillipa continued: "My favourite part of the show would probably be that (second act song) but I also love 'You are the Future King' - there is a choral bit where we are all onstage which doesn't happen very often.
"We all get to play and dance and sing and the song is beautiful. We have a laugh in that scene and I just love it."
What is it like backstage before a show?
Constanze and Aloysia
Phillipa explained: "We do a vocal warmup and Catriona will lead a physical warmup so she will pick a song and we will do a silly dance but it will really help bond us before the show because it is an ensemble piece so we all need to be warm and happy with each other.
"The buzz backstage is gorgeous - we are having a really great time."
"Some of us have wee rituals that we'll do before we go on," Catriona added.
"Me and Corrie, who plays Cinderella, start stage left and we always do a wee fist bump and I look across and can see Phillipa with Declan who is our acting ASM doing a wee dance."
Prince Sebastian
Conor laughed: "So there is a bit of a different buzz if it is a 10am show versus a six o'clock show.
"In the mornings, we all kind of have to work a bit harder to get hyped up so we will put some music on, have a bit of a dance about the stage.
"There is a good atmosphere - we all kind of try and guess if the kids are going to scream or not at the start because they get very excited sometimes so we play like little games and try get each other hyped up."
What can audiences expect from the show?
Cinderella
"It's been a bit different than what you would expect Cinderella to come with," Corrie explained.
"It's funny at points, just the way lines are delivered and I think our accent's got a lot to do with that. It's been really really good - some kids have said it's their favourite thing they've seen all year.
"You can feel people are enjoying it."
Cinderella is running at The MAC Belfast until January 8 and you can find out more about show times by visiting their website
VIDEO BY DYLAN HEGARTY
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