Hansel and Gretel

Our Review:

21 December 2010

If you’re going down to the woods today, you may be disappointed. Hansel and Gretel marks a welcome London return for revered Cornish theatre-makers Kneehigh after their high-flying success in 2008 with Brief Encounter. But this macabre mish-mash simply isn’t a patch on that genuinely moving multi-media experience, which saw the company take over a cinema in the Haymarket and thrillingly blur the boundaries between stage and screen.

Here, the mix of repetitive music, largely banal lyrics and occasional jigs serve little purpose in moving the story forward. And, despite famine, abandonment, torture and frantic overacting, it’s difficult to muster any sympathy for the “good and true” family of selfish parents and their sweet-greedy twins. There are some haunting elements – usually to do with puppetry and clever design – but it never gels into the magical whole that it should. A forced-up-on-your ...

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Latest User Review

Nikki - 8 January 2011:

Went to see it having seen Brief Encounter when Kneehigh did that...I loved Brief Encounter and i was hoping this would be on a similar level...i was severely disappointed..i felt like i'd need to be on some kind of hallucagenic to fully understand the intentions. The standard of acting was pantomime level, particularly from the godawful witch, with random adult humour which didn't really fit in context. Its sad when you go to a play and the best part, other than the curtain finally going down is a pair of chicken puppets....

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