THE FIREBIRD. To 18 January.

Bolton

THE FIREBIRD
by Neil Duffield

Octagon Theatre To 18 January 2003
15 January 10.15am
8,16 January 10.15am & 2.15pm
7,13-14 January 2.15pm
27-28,30-31 December, 2,4,9-11,18 January 2.15pm & 7.15pm
26 December 3,6,17 January 7.15pm
Runs 1hr 55min One interval

TICKETS 01204 520661
Review Timothy Ramsden 19 December

Colourful Russian myths mixed with panto. expectations.Neil Duffield's Russian-set play widens the field of Christmas-time stories; previous productions have shown it malleable, coming over as tamely picturesque or – in Huddersfield last year – a vibrant story with comic interludes. This year The Firebird's migrated as far afield as Newbury and St. Andrews. Sue Reddish's Bolton production catches some of the story's power, though it gives in, at times, too much to the kind of expectations audiences bring from pantomime.

It starts with an apple in a garden. It's the Tsar's apple-tree and, its apples being golden, he's concerned when they start disappearing at night. Add a son who seems useless and a daughter, Katooshka, who takes all praise for herself and lays all blame possible on her unassertive brother, and several story-trails are well-laid.

There's parental injustice: adults' perennial inability to see beneath childhood pretences and assess real values (King Lear had the same problem). And there's the quest, as Matthew Lewney's Ivan sets out to find the Firebird and discovers himself along the way.

It's a way that includes a comic Wolf – his roar's worse than his bite. In fact, he has no bite, being literally toothless until Ivan slings him a spare canine or two. After which he's ultra-loyal, even daring travel to the dreaded Koschei who imprisons beautiful Princess Vasilisa. On with the quest to the grotesque witch Baba Yaga, aged malevolence, who has nicked the Firebird even from Koschei.

Ivan faces his big decision when forced to choose between princess and bird. Duty and devotion split him. And his sister near brings about disaster: an evil more unpleasant than Koschei or Baba Yaga: at least they didn't cover up their blackness with pretty flatteries.

Staged on a central disc, with unused actors watching proceedings, ready to join the action, there's colour and narrative power: but they're not consistently used by this production. The acting's adequate for the occasion, but things drag at times as things turn dutifully pantomimic. But the music, the Firebird's dances and certain scenes do cast a theatrical spell.

Princess Vasilisa: Wendy Baxter
The Firebird: Nuria Benet
Tsar/Koschei the Deathless: Antony Bessick
Princess Katooshka/Baba Yaga: Melody Brown
Wolf: Zoe Lambert
Prince Ivan: Matthew Lewney

Director: Sue Reddish
Designer: Dominie Hooper
Lighting: Thomas Weir
Sound: Andy Smith
Musical Director: Conrad Nelson
Choreographer: Matthew Bugg

2002-12-26 10:03:15