The Scotsman - 4 stars

Rapunzel and the Tower of Doom


By FIONA SHEPHERD
Published: 22/8/2009


THIS Theatre of Widdershins adaptation of the classic Brothers Grimm fairytale purports to reconnect to the dark roots of the story about the cloistered maiden with the long, golden locks.

But while this handsome puppet version is hardly candy-coated, there’s only so far one can go in front of a nursery-age audience.

Instead, the main strength of this production is its meticulous and imaginative design. The puppets are, by turns, cute, cuddly, comic and, in the case of the witch, wonderfully grotesque. The set, which starts off as a fruit and veg market (allowing for some daft vegetable puns), is not just exquisitely modelled but also cleverly conceived, as puppets and props emerge from hidden compartments and everyday objects such as a ladder are transformed for more exotic purposes in service to the story. Rapunzel’s tower, where she is imprisoned so that none of those pesky boys can get to her, is simply but beautifully realised.

Andy Lawrence, the show’s creator, is a relaxed, sympathetic storyteller in whom kids are happy to place their trust. But he is also a masterful technician, in the vein of Quentin Blake, illustrating his stories as he told them on Jackanory. Lawrence’s measured tone doesn’t miss a beat as he reacts to musical cues and calmly handles the demands of operating all the puppets and adapting the set around him.

Modern references to sleepovers and High School Musical – and the occasional allusion which will drift right over the heads of the kids and appeal to the adults – are casually slipped in without ever detracting from the fairytale.

Occasionally, Lawrence will step off stage and interact with the audience.

Although he is not big on a slapstick approach, there is a little surprise for the front rows near the end, which had the otherwise rapt audience with whom I watched squealing with glee.