(Rowan Bartlett, Straw Nzimande & Clare
Mortimer)
Well worth seeing
and would make an exciting and enjoyable Christmas treat for the kids. (Review
by Keith Millar)
It is the time of
the year to keep the kids entertained and happy. Well, a good start would be to
visit the Rhumbelow Theatre in Umbilo, where it is all happening. There are
actors, lights, music, masks, puppets, an evil queen, a greedy king, a
beautiful maiden and a handsome prince. And to keep everyone on their toes
there is an evil little rascal, Rumpelstiltskin.
Based on an ancient
German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm, this entertaining story is
told by three actors who are very skilled in the genre of children’s theatre, Rowan
Bartlett, Straw Nzimande and Clare Mortimer.
The three
performers play all the roles. With the help of a variety of captivating masks
and a number of Claire Mortimer’s clever puppets (look out for the crow) they
keep their young audience, and the parents, engrossed, entertained and amused
for the duration of the 60-minute production.
Briefly, the tale
of Rumpelstiltskin tells of a Miller
who, unable to pay his taxes, tells the King that his daughter can spin straw
into gold. Although the daughter has no such skill, the King puts her to work
to do just this. She is saved when the evil little man, Rumpelstiltskin,
appears and spins the gold for her in exchange for a gift. Eventually, when she
runs out of things to give the evil imp, he tells her that she must find out his
name or sacrifice her first-born baby to him. Of course, with his odd name this
is no easy task. But guess what, in the end, “they all live happily ever
after.”
It is a fairly
complex story and the very young may lose the thread from time to time.
However, this did not seem to matter too much as those present were totally
caught up in the action.
The set also bears
special mention. Various trestles and tables seemed to fold up into any number
of props and serve to set the scene for a variety of settings.
The liberal use of
dramatic classical music also worked well to create tension and set the
ambience. Although at times it was a little loud and drowned out
Rumpelstiltskin’s dialogue.
At the conclusion
of the production there is a brief Christmas decoration making workshop. All
the children present were creatively involved in this process which they
enjoyed thoroughly.
My four-year-old
co-reviewer declared that it was a wonderful day, and the decoration making was
his favourite part.
Rumpelstiltskin is well worth seeing and would make an
exciting and enjoyable Christmas treat for the kids.
Rumpelstiltskin, which can be seen at the Rhumbelow Theatre
in Cunningham Road in Umbilo where it is alternating with the Rhumbelow’s other
children’s production, Criss Cross Christmas until December 22. Tickets R70 pp. Email Roland for bookings or
book at Computicket or phone Ailsa on 083 250 2690 or email roland@stansell.za.net. http://events.durbantheatre.com/ - Keith Millar
See the review of “Criss
Cross Christmas”’s premier season in 2013 at http://news.artsmart.co.za/2013/12/criss-cross-christmas_12.html
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