Hansel and Gretel
4 Moncrieff St., Mt. Victoria, Wellington
03/04/2010 - 17/04/2010
Production Details
Presented by KidzStuff
In this tale of blended families gone horribly wrong, Hansel and Gretel try to outwit their mean stepmother, when she abandons them in the forest, but their hungry tummies land them in big trouble.
Hansel & Gretel need all the help they can get to escapefrom the wicked witch with a taste for pudgy boys and find their way home!
A cautionary tale of the dangers of too many sweets!
The Producers of Cinderella and The Ant and the Grasshopper, KidzStuff has also produced many successful plays written by the talented New Zealand writer Carl Nixon, including The Frog Prince and The Owl and the Pussy Cat (2004) and A Dragon of an Ordinary Family (2006).
We are delighted to have Jane Waddell directing for KidzStuff for the second time, after last year’s hit show Cinderella. Jane is a Wellington based actor, and director, who recently starred in Roger Hall’s Dick Whittington and his Cat atCirca.
The talented cast includes Robbie Tripe, who was last seen at KidzStuff as the bad fairy, Gertrude “you can call me Rude” in The Sleeping Beauty (KidzStuff 2007), and three newcomers to KidzStuff. Kate McGill, and Matariki Whatarau who co-devised the award winning 2010 Fringe show A Love Tail, and Guy Langford, who wrote and performed the 2010 Pick of the Fringe show Wannabe.
At 4 Moncrieff St., Mt. Victoria
3 – 17 April
Performance Times:
Monday – Friday 11 am and 1 pm
Saturdays at 11 am
NB: No shows Easter Monday
Tickets $10
Groups of 10+ $9.00 each
Children under 2 Free
With special prices for holiday programmes
Special Opening Preview 3 April $5.00 per ticket.
Bookings: phone 385 0292
CAST
Hansel: Guy Langford
Gretel: Kate McGill
Stepmother/Witch/Pumpkin: Robert Tripe
Father/Broom/Wolf: Matariki Whatarau
PRODUCTION
Director: Jane Waddell
Music composition and recording: Rob Ormsby
Set: Rose McKie, Rose Morrison, Marie Swanson, Cast and Crew
Lighting Operator/ Production Manager: Paul Tozer
Publicity: Karin Melchior
Graphic Design: Charlotte Oliver
Front of House: Ruby Gray
Administrator: Karin Melchior
Theatre , Children’s ,
Fun in the forest
Review by Laurie Atkinson [Reproduced with permission of Fairfax Media] 06th Apr 2010
Some welcome rejuvenation has been going on in children’s holiday theatre. Jane Waddell has at long last changed the traditional staging of KidzStuff’s shows by altering the performance space so that the actors now play amongst their audience rather than just in front of it for the latest trad hour-long panto Hansel & Gretel.
The jam-packed audience was treated to an amusing announcement about cell-phones being switched off and tantrums being restricted to the foyer, before the show started.
Later the audience was invited to be the scary trees of the forest through which Hansel and Gretel travelled as well as providing bird song and the more traditional there’s-someone-behind-you warnings.
Robert Tripe plays the dame roles (witch and evil step-mother) while Matariki Whatarau plays the father, a broom, and the wolf. They are also rival narrators continually – and amusingly – trying to upstage each other.
Guy Langford and Kate McGill make an attractive pair as Hansel and Gretel with an easy rapport with their audience.
The most enjoyable KidzStuff show in some time.
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the stuff that kids love
Review by Maryanne Cathro 04th Apr 2010
This is my second Kidzstuff review, and I was very happy to revisit them with my niece as subject matter expert. This holiday they have taken on Hansel and Gretel, and really they play it pretty straight. Apart from references to the economic recession (a nice justification for losing the kids in the forest) the original story stands.
And it is delivered in a most entertaining way! The show opens with an argument between a broom (Matariki Whatarau) and a pumpkin (Robbie Tripe), vying for the plum job of narrator. This appeals enormously to the crowd of children sitting on the floor, and was a reported highlight. Hansel (Guy Langford) soon appears and enlists the aid of the audience in finding his sister Gretel (Kate McGill)
Throughout the show all the elements we love in children’s theatre abound – audience participation, two levels of humour to entertain both the very young and their jaded parents, references to bottoms (but all very tasteful!) and lots of physical humour and movement. Two catchy songs were delivered. There were children in the audience from two to ten, and they were all actively engaged. As were most of the parents.
Afterwards when questioned, my subject matter expert highlighted the bits that kids love most – the bits where characters argue and the physical comedy.
Great work by all the cast and Director Jane Waddell for delivering a KidzStuff show bulging with exactly the stuff that kids love!
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For more production details, click on the title above. Go to Home page to see other Reviews, recent Comments and Forum postings (under Chat Back), and News.
Copyright © in the review belongs to the reviewer
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