Theatre review: Hansel And Gretel

Published on Monday 29 March 2010 10:06

HANSEL AND GRETEL *** BYRE THEATRE, ST ANDREWS

JUST for a moment, when I received an invitation to the Byre's summer production of Hansel And Gretel, I thought that the recent abrupt loss of the theatre's annual funding from the Scottish Arts Council might have galvanised it into creating a show of its own, in the time-honoured Byre tradition. No such luck, though.

This reworking of the famous tale of two unwanted children abandoned by their father and stepmother, and their journey through a forest both enchanted and threatening, has been created by Pilot Theatre of York, with the Byre as co-producers.

That reservation apart, though, Nick Lane's version of Hansel And Gretel, directed by Amanda J Smith of Pilot, is a thoroughly enjoyable, vivid and witty show for children of all ages, and for adults in a holiday mood. As a simple, two-handed version of a tale with at least half-a-dozen characters, it has its irritating aspects, including a stroppy and over-emphatic children's television style of presentation, and a full-strength addiction to little meta-theatrical jokes about the nature of theatre that constantly disrupt the narrative.

It has to be said that the young audience love all this, and yell with laughter throughout. The show boasts a brightly-coloured set by Lydia Denno that's both simple and memorably vivid, a little gypsy caravan of a house set against a string of fairy lights and a dark sky; it also features a decent performance from Robin Simpson as Hansel, and a delightful one from Ebony Feare as his clever little sister.

Does it say much about what happens to children whose parents or step-parents don't love them? Probably not; but we do get the message that brothers and sisters should stick together, and that boys should show some respect for girls and their intelligence, no matter what the adults do, or how little they care.