Rumpelstiltskin – Park Theatre

Offie Award Winner Charles Court Opera presents an action-packed pantomime Rumpelstiltskin this festive season at The Park Theatre written and directed by John Savournin. The classic tale by Brothers Grimm breaks into a unique plot tracing the adventure of a greedy Rumpelstiltskin as he journeys towards reclaiming his identity after having forgotten his name to Dreamcatcher’s vicious ploy. On this journey, this consumeristic little goblin comes across several interesting characters in different places, offshoots of different classics at the mercy of the Dreamcatcher. Some help him, some ditch him. How does he reclaim his identity and what changes in him?

The Panto opens with a delightful musical track ‘Once upon a time’ performed by Emily Cairns, Tamoy Phipps and Lucy Whitney dramatising the entire classic of Rumpelstiltskin played by Philip Lee. Then on, the narrative bursts into a unique tale placing the hero’s wish for the world to forget his name at the heart of the story. A library shelf with figurines and objects found in a fairytale is used as the backdrop allowing some surprises to emerge from it. While the story is interesting, the script is too verbose. The Panto is loaded with several characters, forms, styles and spaces with hardly any moments of relief. Further, the intimate space fitting an audience of 90 at Park Theatre does not always help the booming musical score.

Cairns as the Dreamcatcher, Tamoy as the cow, and Whitney as the pirate’s assistant are memorable performances. The characters are sketched as being quite stereotypical and the script thus sounds patronising at times. Lee’s Rumplestiltskin is playful but lacks depth.

Inviting young people onstage, the cast makes the show participatory but a connection with the audience seems lacking. The fourth wall is confusingly established at times. While the performers are powerful and expressive singers, the music composed by David Eaton is often out of sync with the singing. The choreography by David Hulston is varied and matches the musical score but once again seems excessive.

The light design by Jo Palmer creates the atmosphere of a fairytale but the frequent flashes of blue and purple are disturbing, taking away from the experience of the narrative. The costumes are creatively designed by Alex Berry to encapsulate the myriad characters played by Cairns, Tamoy, and Whitney. Everything seems excessive and at the same tempo requiring some dramaturgy to bring the production a cohesive whole.

The panto, however, does deliver some heart-warming moments of friendship, gratitude, and unconditional love. Rumplestiltskin runs at Park Theatre till 14th January 2023. https://parktheatre.co.uk/

Reviewer: Khushboo Shah

Reviewed: 16th December 2022

North West End UK Rating: ★★