CityLife

Grimm Tales

Angela Bain, Joanna Hickman and Sophia Nomvete play a multitude of characters

Grimm Tales
Library Theatre
December 7, 2009

THINK Cinderella is all shiny slippers and kindly godmothers? Think again. Head to the Library Theatre for a Christmas treat – fairy tales with all the gory bits kept in.

The Brothers Grimm are exposed as a right gruesome twosome in Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy's deliciously dark adaptation.

Classics such as Hansel and Gretel and Red Riding Hood are revived alongside lesser- known gems such as the Bird, the Mouse and the Sausage and Iron Hans. They’re brought vividly to life by a cast of eight, who switch from wide eyed children to evil tyrants with gusto.

The production runs at a lively pace as storytelling is interwoven with traditional music and dance in a surprisingly physical piece of theatre.

Seven tales feature, including Ashputtel – a traditional, less saccharine version of Cinderella – and The Lady and the Lion, reminiscent of Beauty and the Beast.

Subtle and thoughtful

Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm worked from the late 18th to mid-19th centuries, inspired by German folklore, their rural upbringing and the tragedy of losing their own parents early.

Their tales reflected the struggles of everyday country folk and Gary McCann’s striking set reflects their preoccupation with nature.

A charming rustic home in the foreground gives way to an eerie forest backdrop, probably populated by wicked witches and ravenous wolves.

But in other respects the brothers’ work still resonates today – adults may shudder at the neglectful fathers and wicked stepmothers as their own children delight in the gingerbread houses and golden geese. By shunning evil and treating natural world with due respect, the innocent invariably triumph – even if not everyone lives happily ever after.

It’s often said that a traditional pantomime works on two levels, entertaining children and adults alike.

However, if an evening of crass innuendoes and garish make-up doesn’t appeal, this production offers a more subtle and thoughtful way to while away a winter’s night.

Grimm Tales runs at The Library Theatre, Manchester, until Saturday, January 23. Tickets cost £16 (£14 concessions, £9 children) and can be booked on 0161 236 7110 or log on to librarytheatre.com.