January 21, 2011
Chicken Skin is an evocative, appealing retelling of a handful of fairy tales drawn from Hans Christian Andersen and Russian folklore, performed in the intimate, cave-like space of Wadham MCR.
The acting was excellent from the whole cast. Ollie Mann as the storyteller was wonderfully creepy, and the cast worked brilliantly as an ensemble. It was clear that the cast really liked each other and really loved the stories and wanted to tell them. Interestingly, as the show was put together in only a week, it didn’t feel underrehearsed, but rather pleasantly fresh – the slightly chaotic atmosphere on stage felt deliberate and charming rather than unprofessional and annoying.
The devices used to create effects out of a simple set were nicely used, and the cast created some lovely images on stage. I especially enjoyed the use of pillows full of feathers for snow, and the shadow work, while a little inaccurate at times, was intelligently, playfully used. The performance space felt nicely immersive – being handed a glass of milk and pointed to a cushion on the floor was pleasingly infantilising, a theme I would have liked to have seen taken further. The use of live music, again, was nice; I would have liked to see a little more accordion action going on throughout.
My only gripe with the play is that the four fairy tales, while lovely, felt a bit unfinished without a framing device to bind them together. I felt that without an overarching storyline to explain why the audience was being told the tales, we were left a little bit lost in them and unsure of the point of the performance. Without being given a reason for caring, they were just a selection of stories, nicely told, and I felt the cast, direction and writing all had the potential to take the show to another level.
As it stands, Chicken Skin is well worth seeing. This is a seriously likeable performance, put together with energy and love.
The acting was excellent from the whole cast. Ollie Mann as the storyteller was wonderfully creepy, and the cast worked brilliantly as an ensemble. It was clear that the cast really liked each other and really loved the stories and wanted to tell them. Interestingly, as the show was put together in only a week, it didn’t feel underrehearsed, but rather pleasantly fresh – the slightly chaotic atmosphere on stage felt deliberate and charming rather than unprofessional and annoying.
The devices used to create effects out of a simple set were nicely used, and the cast created some lovely images on stage. I especially enjoyed the use of pillows full of feathers for snow, and the shadow work, while a little inaccurate at times, was intelligently, playfully used. The performance space felt nicely immersive – being handed a glass of milk and pointed to a cushion on the floor was pleasingly infantilising, a theme I would have liked to have seen taken further. The use of live music, again, was nice; I would have liked to see a little more accordion action going on throughout.
My only gripe with the play is that the four fairy tales, while lovely, felt a bit unfinished without a framing device to bind them together. I felt that without an overarching storyline to explain why the audience was being told the tales, we were left a little bit lost in them and unsure of the point of the performance. Without being given a reason for caring, they were just a selection of stories, nicely told, and I felt the cast, direction and writing all had the potential to take the show to another level.
As it stands, Chicken Skin is well worth seeing. This is a seriously likeable performance, put together with energy and love.