Edinburgh University Theatre Company's audacious show mixes the Brothers Grimm's tales with an examination of their motivation. On a fantastic set composed largely of books, the actors throw themselves into the tales. These are not sanitised versions, but the originals with their rapes, mutilations and horrible deaths. A magnificent percussion ensemble accompanies the action in a variety of styles from West African drumming to gamelan. Even the Napoleonic wars through which Jakob Grimm lived are transformed into a folk-tale. Masks and whiteface are underused, but the show simply doesn't need them; this is student theatre at its best.
Written for The Independent.
Copyright © Ian Shuttleworth; all rights reserved.
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