THE WITCHES Till 8 January
Birmingham
THE WITCHES: Roald Dahl, adapted by David Wood
Birmingham Rep: Tkts 0121 236 4455
Runs: 1h 35m, one interval, till 8 January
Review: Rod Dungate, 6 December 2004
A welcome addition to seasonal fare a delicious dish to savourJonathan Church's production of THE WITCHES (Roald Dahl) is a welcome addition to the seasonal fare on offer to young people.
Dahl's story is a scary one witches hate children and they take every opportunity to turn them into things. David Wood's adaptation and this production revel in the scary qualities while always being aware that the audience is sometimes very young. Plenty of humour for young audiences to appreciate too. I love the production's snappy opening, for instance; no slow house-lights fade and overture here lightning and a clap of thunder hurtle us straight into the story.
Pace is a mark of the production; no longeurs for the young people to get bored during. Sometimes, however, Wood's adaptation is too quick; scenes are gone before you realise they're there and there's too little time to enjoy what is happening or to contemplate what may happen as a result. I admire the sensitive handling, though, of the story's dark ending, which is an occasion where youngsters are left with much to think and talk about. There's a great comedic moment in the second half where the production does hover to great effect it all revolves round greedy-boy Bruno (Keith Saha), now a greedy-mouse, trying to get a sweet. The youngsters are marzipan in his paws well, we all are.
Some lovely performances. Giles Cooper plays Boy with innocence, charm and energy; Dilys Laye is loving and charming as his grandmother and carries with her an air of mystery too. Katerina Jugati makes a perfect Grand High Witch looking at her biog she seems to specialise in such roles! She's terribly elegant at the opening and her transformation is marvellous. Isabel Ford is not to be missed in her Mrs Jenkins role this really is scary.
Craig Denston's puppets are thrilling. Nowhere more so than in the second half where the two boys are transformed into mice. We have unbelievably high expectations of puppets these days having become used to them in films Denston's beautiful creations are every bit as magical and have the advantage of being live.
The haggle of witches is also particularly wonderful, with or without hair where did the women get those frocks!?
Giles Cooper: Boy
Isabel Ford: Treehouse Witch, Witch 2, Mars Jenkins
Chris Hawley: Waiter, Chauffeur
James Hirst: Sailor, Doctor, Mr Jenkins, Head Chef
Peter Holdway: Lawyer, Doorman, Head Waiter
Katerina Jugati: Grand High Witch
Dilys Laye: Grandmother
Camilla Mathias: Nurse, Waitress
Keith Saha: Bruno, Frog, Second Chef
Catherine Skinner: Witch 1
Witches: Jane Andersen, Rachel Childs, Edna Cobley, Anna De Vreede, Jane Hicks, Zelda Hughes, Surinder Johal, Denise Knight, Ziona Lewin, Marlene McKenzie, Christine Schneider, Pearl Seager, Gillian Twaite, Hazel Williams.
Director: Jonathan Church
Designer: Simon Higlett
Composer: Matthew Scott
Illusions Director: Paul Kieve
Lighting Designer: Mark Jonathan
Sound Designer: Paul Groothuis
Choreographer: Jenny Arnold
Assistant Director: Emma Clayton
Puppets: Craig Denston
Dialect Coach: Sally Hague
Projection Design: Second Home Productions
2004-12-08 11:20:20