The paper presents the first investigation of one of the last plays by Leonid Filatov «Cinderella: before and after» (2003). The action of the said play is analyzed to reveal the changes in it in comparison with the knot of the fairy tale by Charles Perrault «Cinderella», of the different texts of its Russian translations as well as of the screenplay of the same name by Eugene Schwartz.
Considered in the dynamics of developments are systems of characters, images of heroines, mutations in the sphere of the consciousness and behavior of characters, components of motivic and event levels. The play is interpreted with due regard for L. Filatov’s first dramatic experience – the play for a theatre inspired by the Russian folklore «About Fedot-shooter, a daring good fellow » as well as by images well-known in the world culture. An attempt is made to understand the creative logic of Filatov-dramatist as a whole.