More Grimm Tales
About the Production
The root of all theatre is storytelling, and the unfolding of a simple tale in the space between the teller and the listener is arguably the purest form of theatre.
Theatre Workshop has visited the stories of Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, best known as the Brothers Grimm, before. Just three years ago we put on ‘Grimm Tales’ here in the pub beer-garden of The Woodman. That time we used a script taken from Tim Supple and the Young Vic Theatre Company, based on translations of the original German text by no less than Carol-Ann Duffy, the Scottish poet (who went on to become Poet Laureate in 2009). This time though we’re taking the project into our own hands, and the adaptation of the tales has been done by Richard Lloyd, with Heidi Bush and Mike Brown. This has the advantage of a script that plays to our company’s strengths. At least, that’s the plan. And though the tales hark back to some of the darker aspects of folklore, indeed we’ve leant into that idea, it remains a family show in more ways than one. The Lloyd family entire will be on stage this evening, as will three quarters of the Martin family, while the remaining quarter will have undoubtedly given you ‘The best seat in the house’ as you entered the auditorium area. So it can’t be that scary, can it?
The stories we have selected for your entertainment are;
Little Snow White
Briar Rose
The Robber Bridegroom
Clever Hans
The Musicians of Bremen
The Spirit in the Bottle
The Devil and his Mother
The Frog Prince
Now listener, make yourself comfortable and we shall let the tales unfold.
The Cast
Behind the Scenes
Image Gallery
The Reviews
Four stars awarded
Theatre Workshop Coulsdon have provided the ideal outdoor summer entertainment for children with their second edition of Grimm’s fairy tales. There are seven stories and while many are familiar others are not. Mike Brown and Heidi Bush are the directors who never let the pace flag and the stories have been adapted for the stage by them and Richard Lloyd.
We start off with ‘Little Snow White’ and the dwarfs are puppets on strings with the voices provided by the puppeteers. My favourite is the one with the fag in his mouth and the Irish accent. It isn’t pantomime either, for the men are men and the women are ladies. Philippa is a (good) looking glass and Tanya Allison is the wicked, question asking, Queen. “Mirror, mirror, etc.” Snow White (Lucy Ann Martin) is a bit gullible, for the wicked Queen, disguised as the old woman, laden with poison and bad intentions visits the dwarf’s house three times. You would have thought that she would suspect: but then she is a nice girl.
‘The Spirit in the Bottle’, is the evil genie which the son (Chris Blakeney) of the woodcutter releases and when attacked is astute enough to best. This version has a magic bandage, one end heals all wounds and the other turns anything into silver. What happened to gold? ‘The Devil and his Grandmother’, relates to three soldiers who desert and escape by selling their souls to the Devil (Paul M Ford). They can only be released if they answer a riddle at the end of seven years. The Devil’s Grandmother (Lisa Lloyd) enables them to hear the answer, which didn’t make much sense to me but it didn’t seem to matter. Anyway, the children probably understood it. ‘Clever Hans’ is my favourite, with Richard Lloyd superb as a ‘thick-as-three-planks’ Hans and Kimberley Argles beguiling as Gretel. The children as dogs chasing after the bacon joint are delightful.
After the interval we have ‘The Frog Prince’, with a comic performance from Emma Rose as the frog. The green make-up is just right and her speech patterns sound just like one of the genus Rana. ‘The Robber Bridegroom’ is just the job to set the teeth chattering and the hair standing on end. Cannibalism, but tastefully done and the Miller, dignified Tim Young and his daughter Sarah Palmer, ensuring that it has a happy ending with the villains hanged. ‘The Musicians of Bremen’ is amusing, with the unwanted animals, Donkey (Paul M Ford), Dog (Mark Taylor), Cat (Chris Blakeney), and Cockerel (Paul Breden) getting the better of three robbers.
The final piece is ‘Briar Rose’, better known to us as Sleeping Beauty. The whole cast take part and when the princess is aroused with a kiss at the end, we could scarce forbade a cheer.
Peter Steptoe for the Croydon Advertiser - Friday July 30, 2004
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