CRUNCH! To 14 April.
London
CRUNCH!
by Daniel Goldman
Arts Theatre To 14 April 2007-04-03 We, Thu, Sat 3.30pm
Runs 1hr 20min No interval
TICKETS: 0870 060 1742
www.artstheatrelondon.com
Review: Timothy Ramsden 28 February
Offbeat entertainment holds young audience.
Devised by Tangram Theatre Company from Daniel Goldman’s script, Crunch seems to be a piece intended for adults that’s been taken up by anyone old enough to have teeth strong enough to bite into their Granny Smith (4+ is the recommended minimum age).
In something like revue style the piece explores the role of the apple in myth, history and quite likely historical myth. It’s also a quest-piece. Fruit-namers in Eden, Adam and Eve come across a particularly tempting-looking apple on an orange stalk. A hissy-fit snake persuades them into taking a bite, leading to their dismissal. Re-engagement will only come when they can replace the rare and desecrated fruit.
To revue and drama there’s eventually added a panto-element with a final singalong. By then it’s become clear how diversely apples have ploughed their way into human storytelling. Ranging back to Greek mythology and the Judgement of Paris, investigating science with Isaac Newton under an apple-tree and taking in Snow White there’s a range of reference, smartly handled.
Though the high Arts stage isn’t ideal for the kind of actor-audience interplay the piece requires, Tangram’s company work away with the audience from, John Hinton’s opening chat to Troels Findsen’s William Tell taking aim from the side-stalls. Individual scenes make the piece, rather than any overall structure or purpose, but the young audience members seemed held and pleased by the suitably healthy slice of entertainment on offer.
What with an apple a day keeping the doctor away and laughter being the best medicine, perhaps the show should be available on the NHS.
Eve/Aphrodite: Sara Lewerth
Adam/ 7 Dwarfs: Johan Westergren
Snake/ Isaac Newton/ William Tell/Witch/Hera/Pedro/Artist: Troels Findsen
Narrator/Johnny Appleseed/Gessler/Mirror/Athena/God: John Hinton
Director: Daniel Goldman
Lighting: Gustaf Asterlig
Composer: Alex Silverman
2007-04-04 12:26:02