THE ENCHANTED PIG. To 27 Jan then tour to 3 March.
London/Tour.
THE ENCHANTED PIG
music by Jonathan Dove words by Alasdair Middleton.
The Young Vic. 66 The Cut, London SE1 8LZ.
Mon- Sat 7.30pm Mat Tue, Thu, Sat 2pm; 10.30am 16, 17, 18, 24 Jan.
Runs 2hr One interval.
TICKETS : 0207 922 2922.
www.youngvic.org
Review : Geoff Ambler 14th December 2006.
The Young Vic does it again.
This must be among the classiest of this year's seasonal offerings, a show which never fails in its relentless drive to entertain a house, full of all ages. Never before have I laughed so much at an operatic performance than during The Enchanted Pig.
The story, based on a Romanian folk tale, revolves around Flora the youngest princess of the King who, when her sisters discover they are to wed the Kings of the East and the West, discovers that she is fated to wed a pig. Shortly after the wedding and subsequent discovery that the Pig is actually a cursed King, Flora is tricked into losing her new husband and has to make an epic journey, wearing down three pairs of iron-soled shoes before she can find him.
The two lead parts of The Pig and Flora are each shared by two performers working on alternate nights, undoubtedly due to the extensive vocal demands the parts place on the performers. One Flora at least, Caryl Hughes, is a captivating delight throughout and magnificently capable of both the dramatic and comedic elements her role encompasses. Startlingly beautiful and overflowing with energy and operatic brilliance, hughes is a masterful casting decision.
Rodney Clarke’s fantastic Pig is attired in an inventive and edgy suit, more fetish wart-hog than pig, all leather and hair complete with ringed snout. Both he and Flora wallow in mud, he as a pig, she, a bride resplendent in white, much to the delight of the younger audience.
The rest of the cast share a number of characters between them and the pairing of John Rawnsley and Nuala Willis as North Wind and Mrs North Wind, two of the friends Flora meets on her journey, is an exceptional piece of theatre.
The simple staging allows the cast to weave through the Young Vic auditorium and Flora’s flights on wires, around the theatre and over the audience, pit the power of the velcro on her cumbersome footwear against potential litigation for falling shoe damage.
Time and time again this year, the Off-West End theatres have excelled by taking risks and producing some of the finest London theatre, when their richer and larger cousins have frequently only been mediocre. In The Enchanted Pig the Young Vic has continued this trend and enhanced its well established reputation for excellence and for being refreshingly and audaciously different.
King Hildebrand/Mr Northwind: John Rawnsley.
Mab/Adelaide: Kate Chapman.
Dot/Day: Akiya Henry.
Flora: Caryl Hughes/Anna Dennis.
Book of Fate/Mrs Northwind/Old Woman: Nuala Willis.
King of the East/The Moon: Joshua Dallas.
King of the West/Sun: Delroy Atkinson.
The Pig: Rodney Clarke/Byron Watson.
Director: John Fulljames.
Designer: Dick Bird.
Lighting: Paul Anderson.
Movement: Philippe Giraudeau.
2006-12-17 22:05:03