Fairytales are in high demand on London’s South Bank. While summer saw Into The Hoods staged at the Southbank Centre, this winter Kneehigh’s Hansel And Gretel will bring a touch of magic to the Queen Elizabeth Hall.
As ever with the Cornish theatre company’s unique brand of performance, this promises to be a Hansel And Gretel unlike anything ever seen before.
In this adaptation of the famous forest-based fairytale, Hansel is bookish and Gretel is a bit of an inventor, while the wicked witch with a taste for cooked children comes complete with her own Bolivian condor. Performed on an adventure playground set, with lederhosen-clad musicians and some rather unlucky rabbits and chickens, the production sounds as intriguing as a cake made entirely of sweets.
“The show will be tender and terrifying… a celebration of human survival and our ability to find our way home,” said director Mike Shepherd. “We will honour the story rather than subvert; adaptation will come through the creative team.”
Hansel And Gretel, which runs from 16 December to 1 January, is written by Carl Grose who also plays both the Father and the Witch. It also stars Kneehigh regulars Edith Tankus, Chris Price and Joanna Holden.
MA