With over a decade's experience producing festive shows at the North Wall, the reputation of Creation Theatre’s Christmas productions precedes them. Having adapted A Christmas Carol into a rollicking party wrapped in a touching exploration of quiet grief, the company return to a work of fairy tale in the form of Hansel & Grettel (the extra t is referred to but never explained).
All the beats of the story are here – two children lost in the woods find themselves in the home of a child-eating witch who meets an unfortunate and fiery end. What Creation Theatre adds is a wealth of folk lore, deepening the narrative and leaning into some of the stranger aspects. Much here treads a fine line between Grimm dark and festive rollick, bleeding into everything from design to music to performance. Of course, in a tale whose big bad is a cannibalistic enchantress, this all makes sense.
Paul Boyd writes and directs, shaping something rich and compelling that envelopes the entire North Wall space. The theatre is usually home to touring shows and comedians, playing end-on and with simple sets. With Hansel & Grettel in residence for several weeks, the auditorium has been shifted into a thrust set-up, with the cast confidently moving in and around the stage, disappearing and re-appearing at different parts of the theatre. Cory Shipp’s design is effective and inventive, multi-levelled and with a smack of genius, all enhanced by Will Alder’s wonderful lighting design. On a technical level, this is a work that sings.
As an audience member I had some initial nerves that what we had here was too dark and complicated for the youngest member of our party. Thankfully our fiercely capable ensemble does much to ease us into the world. An early scene involving our central duo meeting a group of birds is filled with puns, deeply silly and hilarious. Boyd’s production is unafraid to pause proceedings to throw in some jokes and make us all feel a bit more comfortable. All while the overarching narrative moves to darker and darker places.
It feels wise for my final thoughts to turn to the cast who are universally strong. Connor Keetley brings warmth to Hansel, enhanced by a charming chemistry with Hayley Murray’s Grettel. Murray has, perhaps, more laughs, thanks to a recurring bit of picking a complicated word to describe a situation (proceeded by a ‘what’s the word’). But much of the narrative’s power relies upon these two characters and their actors are endearing focal points. Surrounding them, Clare Rickard and Herb Cuanalo each take on a trio of parts, transforming and stealing their own moments, be it as a smooth-talking frog or a mute goblin called Garry. Jane Milligan’s Witch is a tricksy, engaging presence, haunting the play even before we properly meet them. But threatening to steal the whole thing is Christopher Finn’s Gregory, the show’s sometimes-narrator, near-constant presence. Leading many of the show’s best musical numbers, Finn has a swagger and confidence, engaging to watch, constantly charming a smile out of the audience.
Creation Theatre’s Hansel & Grettel is another theatrical triumph for the company, a glorious alternative to a pantomime, a nuanced two hours with a dark heart, terrific performances and enough laughs to go down as smoothly as a velvety hot chocolate. Make sure to catch it while you can.
My 8 year-old daughter had these thoughts – “I though that it was really good because they included children in the cast and also had other witches. I liked how dramatic they were about the winter’s moon and the witch waking. I liked how the parents got hypnotized. I really liked how they went off the stage and involved the audience. I like that I could see who was who with Hansel & Grettel, who was older and who was younger. And I liked the scene with different birds, especially the funny bit with the duck who thinks he’s an owl.”
