Stage: Gingerbread dread
A tasty traditional treat from Lantern Light as they celebrate Christmas with their new adaptation of the classic children’s tale Hansel and Gretel
Having recently seen the Glyndebourne revival of their extraordinary telly of Engelbert Humperdick’s Hansel und Gretel it will be fascinating to see how a small theatre company handle the tale and make it, well, shall we say, less scary and more child appropriate than the stunning opera production.
Whilst Glyndebourne’s version was dark as pitch, at times terrifying, the usual portrayal is of two naughty children who run away only to learn a much needed lesson. Quirky and engaging.
Lantern Light’s charming re-telling of the classic fairy-tale promises to have you hunting for pebbles, clapping to the polka and singing along with the Forest Song!
In a small village, deep in the Black Forest, things are not all as they seem when a handsome young woodcutter marries a mysterious woman…
His children, Hansel and Gretel, don’t like her, but they also don’t like village life and chopping wood! Feisty tomboy, Gretel, wants to leave the boring old forest for the excitement of the city and shy, sensitive, Hansel, well – he doesn’t want to cut down trees, he wants to paint them!
Lantern Light offer a magical adventure where you can find out how the story ends; can the bird outside the cottage really talk, what kind of a spell has their new stepmother cast on Hansel and Gretel’s father, and why is there a smell of gingerbread wafting through the trees?
They offer a Christmas show with heart, a tale of growing up, learning to love your family and, perhaps most importantly, not always getting what you want!
Songs, dancing, games for children of all ages to get involved with and sweet giveaways is a temptation certainly to try.
Suitable for ages 5+, but happy to welcome younger members of the family if parents feel they will enjoy the show.
Brighton Unitarian Church, New Road, Brighton, BN1 1UF,
Weds 11, Sat 14, Weds 18 and Fri 20 December at 7pm, Mon 23 December 2pm & 7pm
