FOUR STARS
TAKE one old warehouse
with dimly lit stairwells, a rabbit warren of rooms and a selection
of artefacts displayed on and hung from the walls and ceilings and
you have the perfect place for an evening of story telling.
And that is precisely
what a visit to the Bargehouse is. Tucked away behind the Oxo Tower
it’s a building you might just walk past. But it is currently home
to an imersive production of Philip Pullman’s Grimm Tales.
Its derelict
labyrinthine chambers plus three staircases and an
attic, have been transformed into an inspired world of overgrown
forests, slaughterhouse kitchens, crumbling industrial castles and
dilapidated attic ballrooms.
Once
inside the audience is split into groups and are then led into
one of the rooms to sit and listen to and watch a selection of the
tales adapted by Philip Pullman from the Brothers’ Grimm.
Among the stories are
The Frog King or Iron Heinrich, Hansel and Gretel,
Thousandfurs, Faithful Johannes, The Goose Girl at the Spring and The
Three Little Men in the Woods.
Props are simple and
inventive with a bath tub for a well and cotton reels with red thread
for strawberries and green plastic gloves filled with water for
toads.
The Three Little Men
are wooden puppets and two more can be found in Faithful Johannes as
the twin boys.
The stories are brought
to life by group of 16 actors and musicians who act out the scenes
with charm and enthusiasm in sometimes very cramped conditions.
Indeed some of the
spaces are so small the audience squashes onto wooden benches or have
to stand at the back. Once done, the audience is told to “follow
me” and off we go again, led through a maze of corridors and stairs
to another room for another story.
It is utterly brilliant
– slightly disorientating at times as you never are quite sure
exactly where in the building you might be – but it’s exciting
and thrilling and a real treat to be part of something that’s a bit
mysterious and inventive.
Grimm Tales is on at
the Bargehouse, Oxo Tower Wharf, Bargehouse Street until Saturday,
April 11. Tickets cost from £20s. Visit www.grimm-tales.co.uk for
tickets.
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