Scottish Ballet’s lively production of Hansel & Gretel will have kids of all ages going home happy
The Grimm Brothers’ tale performed in Hong Kong has been given a few twists and a Scottish flavour by choreographer Christopher Hampson, and benefits from stunning visuals and simple comedy that children will identify with
Hansel & Gretel was a well-chosen opener for Hong Kong’s annual family-oriented International Arts Carnival. This Scottish Ballet production offers lively, unpretentious entertainment aimed squarely at children, with stunning visuals, simple comedy and lead characters the youngsters can identify with.
The choreographer, the company’s artistic director Christopher Hampson, has given the Grimm Brothers’ tale a few twists and a distinctly Scottish flavour.
The setting is a working class town in the early 1960s where the children’s father enjoys a few beers with his mates on the way home from work and he and his wife fall asleep every night on the sofa. The witch first appears as a seemingly kindly schoolteacher who kidnaps her pupils with the aid of magic sweets, then as a beautiful fairy who leads Hansel and Gretel into the forest, revealing her true form as an evil hag (a terrific transformation) only once they are captives in her house.
This is an expurgated version compared to the original story. Instead of being abandoned to starve in the woods by their parents, the brother and sister set out to find their missing schoolmates, who mysteriously reappear after the witch is killed (apparently she didn’t eat them).
Most children’s classics have a scary side and the production could have been a bit darker, although the fate of Hansel’s beloved teddy bear certainly made the audience gasp.