Kneehigh returns to Lyric Hammersmith in fine fettle with the London premiere of THE WILD BRIDE, inspired by the Grimm fairytale THE HANDLESS MAIDEN.
In this lyrical, feminist folktale, a father accidentally sells his daughter to the devil. After he is forced by the lustful fiend to chop off her hands, we follow the girl's rites of passage as she attempts to elude the devil's clutches, escapes into the wild, is rescued by a dashing Scottish prince clad in a kilt, spends a further seven years in the wilderness and grows into a woman.
Emma Rice's spectacularly staged production (aided by choreographer Etta Murfitt) succeeds on every level. The devil opens the show with a banjo and the declaration "In the beginning there was nothing" and for the ensuing 110 minutes the talented ensemble, accompanied by musician Ian Ross, gives us glorious theatre. The result is a delightful mix of storytelling, music and almost balletic physicality.
Three actresses share the role of the heroine. Audrey Brisson plays the girl, Patricia Kujawska becomes "the wild", adorned with a crown of twigs and oversized metal hands fashioned by a blacksmith, before handing the baton to Eva Magyar's more worldly-wise woman. Stuart McLoughlin makes a memorable devil, both sinister and mischievous, and Stuart Goodwin proves a crowd pleaser as the dissolute father and lovable prince. They are all as adept musicians as they are performers.
Bill Mitchell's wonderful set adds to the magic. Ladders entwined with a tree reinforce a sense of heaven and hell - of falling and ascending - light bulbs become edible pears and mini podiums allow star turns – of which there are many.
The songs come thick and fast, folk mixed with the blues (courtesy of Carl Grose's text and Stu Barker's lyrics) adding light to this darkly-comic tale.
Not to be missed.
