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Latest items? Unedited? Fringe Report Uncut
THE SNOW QUEEN
Verdict: Hans Andersen's engaging fairy-tale
Edinburgh - Sweet at the Crowne Plaza - August 03
The Snow Queen is a short piece of theatre and puppet work, running at just under an hour and suitable for children 5+ and adults.
5 actors portraying 16 characters, and shadow puppets on a back-lit screen, deliver Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale, in a new translation by director Christina Anthony-Collins.
A girl and boy, Gerda and Kai, play inside their Grandmother's house. The evil Snow Queen spirits Kai away. The rest of the play is Gerda's hunt.
On the way she meets people with mixed, good and bad intentions. There's an old lady whose generosity isn't what it seems; robbers, a prince and princess, a witch, crow and reindeer. Will goodness and a pure heart prevail over evil? Will Kai be thawed or deep frozen?
Collette Todd is engaging as constant Gerda, trekking across snow and sea on her chilly quest with hope in her heart and a song constantly on her lips. Teresa Hancock's an outrageously camp Snow Queen, bursting from spangles and white fur while traversing bemused Laps - like a composite of Liberace, Danny La Rue and Graham Norton cruising Scandinavia from the Cage aux Folles.
Karin Pearson presents an authentic Grandmother, shifty Rose Lady and highly debauched Robber Mother. Yuli Brooks pops up as a beaky Troll, charming princess, good robber, and a beatific - and extremely well-dressed - doppelgänger of Eskimo Nell.
Paul McCready portrays errant child Kai, en route from fireside to refrigerator. Given the choice of being kissed by the voluptuous Snow Queen and coming home to Granny, many boys in his position would likely choose the former, but that would be a different story.
The two high points of the evening are undoubtedly Paul McCready's outstanding performances as The Crow, and Bruno the Reindeer. He creates two funny, believable and highly enjoyable characters.
Nicolai Hart Hansen's puppet work is a delight. Simple in conception, it proves entrancing and effective in conveying the narrative.
Hans Christian Andersen was born in Denmark in 1805, died 1875. He was knighted at 41 - a year after writing this play. He was respected by a large circle of influential writers - Victor Hugo, Heinrich Heine, Balzac, Alexandre Dumas, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Willam Thackeray, Oscar Wilde, CS Lewis, Charles Dickens (with whom he stayed in 1857), and the composer Greig.
Hans Andersen was an ugly man with long beaked nose and close-set eyes. He died in love with the Swedish singer Jenny Lind. As ever, in his life, it was unrequited. His stories often reflect the solitude of the outsider - The Ugly Duckling - and a romantic view of love - The Steadfast Tin Soldier. The Snow Queen is perhaps his darkest work, and director/translator Christina Anthony-Collins has created a gentler version here, so that younger audiences can sleep without fear.
Cast Credits (alpha order): Yuli Brooks (Troll, Princess, Robber Girl, Lap Woman); Teresa Hancock (Snow Queen, Robber Woman); Paul McCready (Kai, Crow, Robber, Bruno); Karin Persson (Grandmother, Old Lady, Prince, Robber, Finn Woman); Colette Todd (Gerda).
Company Credits (programme order): Christina Anthony-Collins - Director, Translator, Composer. Nicolai Hart Hansen - Set, Costume, and Puppetry Designer. Teresa Hancock - Producer. Hans Christian Andersen - Writer. Lights and Sound - Jake Wiltshire. Thanks to: Gilly Frisch, The Danish Club, The Danish Church, Ulla Virtaren, Ann Dekoj Prytz, Marie Brock, Brecknock Primary School, The Swedish Embassy. Nordic Theatre Company - Christina Anthony-Collins and Marie Parker Shaw.
END
John Park
reviewed Canal Café Theatre / Wednesday 16 April 03
(c) Fringe Report 2003
Fringe Report (c) Fringe Report 2002-2012
www.fringereport.com
