Ugly sisters

The Ugly sisters are characters in the fairy tale and pantomime, Cinderella. They are the daughters of Cinderella's cruel step mother, who treat her poorly. They are traditionally played by male actors in drag and wear outlandish exaggerated clothes.

In Charles Perrault's original fairytale, the only named stepsister is "Miss Charlotte". For many years they have remained nameless until Rossini's opera named them Clorinda and Thisbe, and this remained the way for many years. But they have no set names as their names change to accommodate the fashions of the times, and often they are named after media personalities, such as Posh and Becks, Jordan and Jodie after Jordan and Jodie Marsh, Trinny and Susannah, Kath and Kim and countless others. They are often named after flowers or diseases. It is quite popular to have them as tall/short and fat/thin opposites. Both sisters strive to claim the handsome Prince as their own and believe they will succeed through their apparent "beauty". Quite often they have a different costume in each scene. A common theme is to have them dress as fruit, vegetables or flowers.

Traditionally, the two stepsisters are extremely jealous of Cindrella, as she is very beautiful and they are very ugly. In order to ensure no man will want to marry her, they reduce her to their maidservant and force her into waiting on them non-stop and doing all the dirtiest kitchen jobs. Sometimes Cinderella has an alternate name, such as "Isabella", "Ella", Arabella", or more recently, "Heidi", and the jealous stepsisters rename her "Cinderella" due to the fact she mostly sweeps and cleans the firesides and is constantly covered in ashes and cinders. When Buttons, the Baron's footman delivers the news of the Royal Ball, the stepsisters plot to claim the prince as their own. When they realise Cinderella has also been invited, they force her,or trick her,into tearing up her ticket. They then strut off to the Ball and are amazed and horrified when Cinderella appears with the help of her fairy godmother. The Ball is often used as a comical scene in which the sisters humiliate themselves in an attempt to charm the prince, who is too enchanted with Cinderella to notice them. Then Cinderella flees at midnight, leaving one of her glass or crystal or silver slippers behind.

The next day, the Prince arrives with the news he will marry whomsoever the slipper fits. The two sisters fight and quarrel over who the shoe will fit. It is traditional to have one sister concealing a false leg beneath her skirt in an attempt to fool the prince. Another tradition is that one sister has yards and yards of multicoloured stockings beneath her skirt, which must be comically removed before trying the shoe on. When the shoe does not fit, the Prince allows Cinderella (who has either been tricked into leaving the house or locked in the cellar) to try it on. When the shoe fits, the stepsisters are horrified. Their fates are dependable upon which version is being told. Sometimes they are forgiven for their cruelty, other times they are demoted to servants in the prince's castle, or sometimes the Baron Hardup at last puts his foot down and stands up to them. More commonly, the fairy godmother will cast a spell to make the sisters good and kind forever more.

Recently, the role of the wicked stepmother has been omitted from the story. Sometimes she has absconded with the family fortune and left Cinderella to cope with her two ugly daughters. Other times she has died. Or else the Baron is engaged to be married and the stepmother has sent her two unbearable daughters in advance (whom the baron was ignorant of) to see if it is a suitable place for them all to live. Upon arriving, they instantly assault Cinderella, tearing her dress and reducing her to rags. More often than not, they have been installed for quite a while.