Kneehigh Hansel & Gretel Have Xmas in London

Ahead of the 2011 anticipated West End transfer of The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, internationally renowned, Cornwall-based theatre company Kneehigh will be back in London this Christmas with their acclaimed version of Hansel and Gretel, which will run at the Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall from 16 December 2010 to 1 January 2011.

It will mark Kneehigh’s first major London outing since its 2008 multimedia adaptation of Noel Coward’s Brief Encounter, which had an extended West End season in a cinema on Haymarket before international touring and a transfer to Broadway, where it’s still running at Studio 54.

Kneehigh’s “twisted” reimagining of the classic Brothers’ Grimm fairy tale, aimed at adults as well as children, is co-produced by Bristol Old Vic, where it was first seen in December 2009 before a regional tour. It’s directed by Mike Shepard and designed by Michael Vale. Chris Price and Joanna Holden play the title characters, joined in the company by Carl Grose, Edith Tankus, Teej Holmes and Benji Bower.

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, Kneehigh’s adaptation of Michel Legrand’s 1964 French film musical premieres at Leicester Curve from 11 to 26 February ahead of a planned West End transfer (dates and venue still tbc). The company has also been celebrating its 30th anniversary this year with the opening of a new permanent home, called The Asylum, in Cornwall, and a UK-wide tour of its version of The Red Shoes.

In addition to Brief Encounter and The Red Shoes, Kneehigh has previously had major London runs with the likes of A Matter of Life and Death, Nights at the Circus, Tristan and Yseult and The Riot.