Tall Tales |
| CLWYD THEATR CYMRU THEATRE FOR YOUNG PEOPLE , Clwyd Theatr Cymru, Mold , February 1, 2010 |
You know that Christmas has fully ended in Mold when we mere adults are allowed to see the Theatre For Young People show which has been touring to schools around the area. Actually that's no longer strictly true because so popular have these storytelling shows become with the adults who saw them that tours now visit community centres as well.Tim Baker picks a cast of four who hypnotically weave together tales from around the world, using not only words but music and puppets to bring them to magical life. Here we get the story of the only man in Wales whose singing is so bad no-one can bear to listen to him until a magic harp comes to his aid. Then there's the magical tale of the young man who can remember nothing and the young woman who tells him the story of a witch, a pig and a young woman. There's a version of Hans Christian Andersen's Little Match Girl, with an utterly convincing puppet made of rags, which is heart-tearingly sad. Happily that is followed by a bouncy musical piece about a frog who wants to fly and of the arrogant geese who try to help him. The four performers, whether singing, playing instruments, operating puppets, narrating tales, playing parts or simply chatting to and involving their audience, particularly the younger members of it, are delightfully winning. Michael Geary is glorious as the non-singing Welshman and magnificent as the somewhat over-eager frog. Joyce Greenaway is a particularly frightening and angry witch as well as producing lovely music from her violin. Lauryn Redding is quietly strong as the young woman searching for her lost love with his lost memory. Alun Saunders has a particularly glorious time as the pub landlord aiming to sell his German customers the truth of the Gellert story. These last three also make a fine flock of singing, preening geese. But it's the way all four mesh together so that the stories form a seamless whole and the music weaves inextricably with the spoken word to make the whole thing such an absorbing delight. |
Reviewed by: Victor Hallett |
This review has been read 443 times |
