About
- AGES 12+
- 60mins
We're smashing the glass slipper.
At the ‘Is This Talent?’ talent contest, Afa, Sika and Rella take their sister-act to the stage. In a cruel twist of fate, Rella is offered a recording contract with ‘Prince Charming Records’ and leaves her two sisters behind to become ‘Cinderella’, a pop goddess.
As ‘Cinderella’ tears through the tabloids, Afa and Sika steal back the limelight and seize the opportunity to tell their side of the story in a high-octane musical makeover of two of the most maligned figures in fairytale history.
Directed by Sasha Zahra and featuring original music by Carla Lippis and Duncan Campbell with choreography by Fez Faanana, this razor-sharp comedy about family, fame and finding home is a radical reinvention of a classic that isn’t afraid to smudge its eyeliner.
Rella
Credits
- Co-Creator, Director Sasha Zahra
- Co-Creator, Performer, Choreographer Fez Faanana
- Co-Creator, Writer Tracey Rigney
- Performer, Choreographer, Co-Creator Thomas Fonua
- Designer Meg Wilson
- Lighting & AV Designer Chris Petridis
- Performer, Co-Composer Carla Lippis
- Co-Composer Duncan Campbell
- Performer Elaine Crombie
- AV Content Creator Liam Somerville
Meet the Cast and Creative Team
Sasha Zahra
Sasha has worked in numerous areas across the performing arts industry in Australia and overseas in the past 25 years. She has been the Artistic Director of D’Faces of Youth Arts, Kurrruru Youth Performing Arts and Associate Artistic Director of the Come Out Festival. She was the Creative Producer of Adelaide Fringe (2009 – 2014), the co-program director for the Royal Croquet Club in Adelaide (2015 – 2018), co-director of the Stirling Fringe (2017, 2018 & 2019) and a producer for Briefs Factory and Hot Brown Honey (2014 & 2015). Sasha has worked extensively with Vanuatu’s Wan Smolbag Theatre (producing three international theatre festivals for the company in 2009, 2014 and 2019) with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists and communities and as a producer with independent artists and companies across Australia and internationally.
More recently Sasha was the Executive Producer of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies for the mini–Pacific Games (Dec 2017), directed & co directed numerous shows for the 2018 & 2019 Adelaide Cabaret Festival, directed Amphibian for Windmill (2018). Co-ordinated a women’s gathering in celebration of the 30-year anniversary (Nov 2018) of Mura Kosker Sorority in the Torres Strait (Thursday Island) and directed Rebecca Meston’s Drive for Theatre Works in Melbourne (Jun/July 2019), co-produced the third Vanuatu Theatre Festival for Wan Smolbag Theatre (Jul 2019) and was a producer of the Remote Indigenous Media Festival & Torres Strait Performing Arts Festival on Thursday Island (Sep 2019). In 2019 Sasha worked as Creative Producer – Performance and Events at Tandanya National Cultural Institute. In 2021 she was appointed as Associate Director of Windmill Theatre.
Fez Faanana
Fez is well known for creating accessible, ground-breaking, physically dynamic and contemporary performance that infuses his Pacific bloodline, political bite, gender juggling, visual spectacle and tongue-in-cheek.
Fez is also Shivannah. He-she is the host and MC, choreographer, creative director, performer, collaborator and co- creator along with an all-male circus burlesque gender bending cast. As an independent artist, collaborator and arts worker/educator, Fez has toured extensively throughout Australia and internationally through Canada, the Pacific, the UK and the USA.
He has featured in various cabarets, co-productions and commissioned works including Melbourne Comedy Festival, Melbourne International Festival, Sydney Biennale, Sydney Festival, Harbor Front Centre Toronto, Big Sky Works & Galapagos Art Space New York, Performance Space Sydney, Duckie Royal Vauxhall London and the Sydney Opera House Studio.
He has also independently produced and programmed work for Brisbane Festival, Adelaide Fringe Festival as well as the Brisbane Powerhouse.
Tracey Rigney
Tracey has always had a love of storytelling from her Grandfather and family. A Wotjobaluk and Ngarrindjeri woman, she draws inspiration from her people and culture. She began her career in the theatre as a playwright with her debut play Belonging. She went on to write a couple of more plays before transitioning to film and TV. Her works include documentary and short films, Endangered, Abalone, Man Real and Elders. She directed Steven Oliver’s web series A Chance Affair and has written for TV on The Warriors.
Her films have travelled nationally and internationally and have received nominations and awards such as Best Short Drama. One of her career highlights is working with her co-collaborator Desiree Cross and Koorie students from Dimboola Primary School on Teacher’s Pet. This film won Best Primary School Production and was an ATOM award finalist. She is currently working back in the theatre space on some exciting projects.
Thomas Fonua
Thomas Fonua an artist of Pacific decent with an established career as a dancer, choreographer and emerging leader. Thomas has worked for companies such as Black Grace (NZ) , Australian Dance Theatre, Red Sky Performance(Canada), Briefs Factory and has been touring internationally from the age of 16.
Thomas’ alterego Kween Kong, is the Reigning Dragnation Australia Winner. With a strong focus to inspire, challenge and nurture our community with his loved based leadership style.
Thomas is the recipient of The (NZ) Prime Minster’s Award for Arts and Creativity(2015), Out For Australia’s Emerging Leader(2019) and has recently been nominated for the Dora Award For Outstanding Choreography in Canada.
Meg Wilson
Meg Wilson is an Adelaide-based interdisciplinary artist and designer. Works include State Theatre Company of South Australia’s Terrestrial (2018), Euphoria (2021), Eureka Day (2021), Windmill Theatre Company’s Amphibian (2018), Patch Theatre (Lighthouse, AF 2020), Restless Dance Theatre’s Intimate Space and Guttered (2021) as well as several works with Vitalstatistix.
Her GreenRoom award-winning work, SQUASH! with Arts House was part of the Festival of Live Art (FOLA, 2018). She has also exhibited independently with Contemporary Art Centre SA (2015), BLINDSIDE, VIC; Constance ARI, TAS; Nexus Arts, FELTspace and ACE Open. In 2018 she was a resident artist with Urban Theatre Projects (NSW), hand-weaving trampolines for production Right Here. Right Now.
Chris Petridis
Chris is a lighting and video designer from Adelaide, working across theatre, dance, and other live events in Australia and internationally.
Chris has worked with renowned arts organisations including State Theatre Company of South Australia, Theatre Republic, Is This Yours, Australian Dance Theatre, Brink Productions, Restless Dance Theatre, Slingsby Theatre Company, Force Majure, Windmill Theatre Company and Vitalstatistix.
Chris recently worked on the inaugural Illuminate Adelaide Festival’s Light Cycles in the Adelaide Botanic Gardens crafted by the world-leading studio, Moment Factory. Other recent credits include Carla Lippis’ Mondo Psycho for WOMAD 2022, Theatre Republic’s How Not To Make It In America and Windmill Theatre Company’s Creation Creation.
Carla Lippis
Adelaide native Carla Lippis has recently returned after 4 years in London’s West End, where she worked as the principal singer at the historic Cafe de Paris, and as the host of notorious nightclub The Box. Her international touring has included concerts with Calexico, Kiss, Mötley Crüe and Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. She performed in the venerated circus La Soiree. Her variety show Midnight Marauders guested at Edinburgh Festival’s Club Cumming.
Carla has released albums as Baby Carla and Carla Lippis & The Martial Hearts, and has collaborated with Italian post-folk group Sacri Cuori. She featured in queer icon Jonny Woo’s All-Star Brexit Cabaret. Her Adelaide Cabaret Festival appearances include The 27 Club, Southern Belles, and her own Cast A Dark Shadow.
Duncan Campbell
Duncan has been an active creative in Adelaide for the past 15 years working in the music and film industries.
From early days writing and performing in concept rock band Mr Wednesday to more recent endeavours working in foley and sound effects/design for film and television. In 2019 Duncan received an Australian Screen Sound Guild award for Best Sound Editing on the SciFi Netflix film I Am Mother. He is also currently writing and performing with Adelaide singer songwriter Carla Lippis.
Most recent film credits include The Furnace, Mortal Kombat, Mr Corman, Kate and Westworld.
Elaine Crombie
Elaine Crombie is a Helpmann Award-winning actor, singer, writer and musician working broadly across theatre, television and film. She has performed with Belvoir, Sydney Theatre Company, Queensland Theatre, Malthouse Theatre, State Theatre Company South Australia and Bangarra among many others. Elaine’s screen credits include Top End Wedding, Rosehaven, Top of the Lake and Black Comedy.
Liam Somerville
Liam Somerville is a video artist and cinematographer living and working on Kaurna Land. He is the co-founder of CAPITAL WASTE PICTURES, a production company creating installations and films that focus on the interaction between distortions of reality and the moving image. Liam has worked broadly across film and television, completing residencies in Adelaide and Denver. He was the co-director of VIDEO NASTY: The Making of Ribspreader and has had works screened at Adelaide Film Festival, RCC, Womadelaide, Adelaide Festival Centre, Otterbox Digital Dome at Fort Collins Museum of Discovery and Gates Planetarium at Denver Museum of Science & Nature among many others.