Ella
‘Ella’ is a Black version of the fairytale story Cinderella, cleverly adapted and performed originally as a play, by Catalyst – a group of young Black people, based in Liverpool, who started their own drama/dance group and are involved in all aspects of production: choreography, scripting, directing, producing, song-writing, search for venues, costumes...
Using a lively mix of snappy editing and humorous observation, the video follows the cast through rehearsal scenes to a performance of the play at Liverpool's Everyman Theatre. Intercut is an interview with 19-year-old Marcia Davis, one of the main figures behind Catalyst, who explains the beginnings of the company and their general philosophy.
Combining dance, music, drama and video, ‘Ella’ is an exciting example of a drama-in-education project in action.
Description Source: Cinenova Catalogue (1994). Edited by Kate Norrish. Editorial committee: Elaine Burrows, Liane Harris, Helen de Witt
