SLEEPING BEAUTY. To 17 January.
Keswick
SLEEPING BEAUTY
by Charles Way
Theatre By The Lake To 17 January 2004
2pm 7pm various dates School performances 10am 1.30pm No performance 24-25, 31 December
Audio-described 13 December 7pm
BSL Signed 19 December 7pm
Runs 2hr 5min One interval
TICKETS: 017687 74411
www.theatrebythelake.com
Review: Timothy Ramsden 6 December
Colour and light entertain in a tale that has darker overtones.This is among the very finest possibly it's the finest among modern adaptations of Christmas season stories. Charles Way solves the problem of a central character who's out of a central chunk of the action by focusing on the Prince who'll awaken her. This is about the process of growing up, about friendship and love.
Time passes quickly while we're enjoying ourselves. And for the characters. Young people have a different awareness of time, so when Owain, given 100 years to rescue Princes Briar Rose, finds his stay with the Peer Gyntish Tylwyth Teg spirits and the Spider King has taken up nearly the whole century there's a sense of life's reality hitting the boy originally dispatched as a useless article by his father to the castle of King Peredur.
He learns to put long-term vision over instant gratification, and to take responsibility for his friend, half-Dragon Gryff. When the final countdown (audiences always join in) gives him 10 seconds to realise only a kiss (Yuck!) will save his old pal Briar Rose, the ending's richness arises from the double salvation: she's awake and he's alive to the possibilities of human relationships. It's kept from being patronising by the Princess's greater maturity in their innocent days of childhood friendship.
Ian Forrest's production is bright and pretty. Court colours shine like a spanking new set of high-quality playing cards, the setting's as pristine as the medieval world of Olivier's Henry V. The story's clearly told, though some of the deeper resonances are unpointed. Bright', or benevolent, witch Brangwen is an inefficient spell-weaver; her dark sister Modron is sharper, driven by a sense of injury. Her magic's power is part born from her injury, but the impact here's muffled.
Room too to develop Owain's callow lack of self-reflection in the first act, something which reflects strength upon Briar Rose and intensifies the ending's joy. Yet John Webb's Spider King, with its sense of sadness, offers some rich moments. And there's enough colour and comedy to keep audiences happy all along the way.
Branwen/Tylwyth Teg: Joanna Brookes
Gryff: Eric Coudrill
Queen Guinevere/Tylwyth Teg: Maria Gough
Modron/Tylwyth Teg: Charmian Gradwell
Briar Rose/Tylwyth Teg: Rina Mahoney
Sprite/Page/Tylwyth Teg/Spider Servant: Rosa Stourac McCreery
Prince Owain/Bishop: Mark Pearce
King Peredur/Spider King: John Webb
Director: Ian Forrest
Designer: Martin Johns
Lighting: Jo Dawson
Sound: Paul Bunn
Choreographer: Lorelei Lynn
Fight director: Peter Macqueen
2003-12-09 00:19:45