Adaptations of well known fairy tales for the stage that are new, fresh and innovative have been a feature of Wellington’s children’s theatre groups for many years and Kapital Kids Theatre’s latest adaptation of the Grimm’s fairy tale – Rumpelstiltsken is no exception. 

More a musical than a play, this adaptation is full of original and well known songs all written and rewritten to tell the story of how Jim the Miller (Matt Clayton), not being able to support his daughter Esmeralda (Hazel Oxborough) any more, convinces Queen Mildred (Amalia Calder) that his daughter can spin straw into gold.  

Once in the castle however Esmeralda is at her wits end to know how to achieve the impossible, that is until a little green gnome Rumpelstiltsken (Rodney Bane) happens along.  In return for rings and trinkets he is able to create the required gold and so all the royal household become decked out in gold refinery including Prince Heathcliffe (Mason Vili) who falls in love with Esmeralda and marries her. 

When Esmeralda has nothing left to give Rumpelstiltsken for helping her he threatens to take her first born child unless she can guess his name.  And so the climax of the story is how she does this with the help of her father. 

In Bea Lee-Smith’s adaptation, which she also directs and choreographs, the many songs used to tell the story are energetically sung and danced by the cast ably accompanied by pianist Anita Abeygoonasekera.  And while there is not a lot of audience participation with this version of the show, the two narrators, Balladeer’s Jeeves (Johanna Cosgrove) and Briggs (Abby Damen), keep this well constructed show flowing effortlessly. 

The rest of the cast, particularly Hazel Oxborough as the sweetly innocently Esmeralda, Amalia Calder as the vivaciousness Queen and Rodney Bane as the nasty Rumpelstiltsken, all perform with confidence and professionalism and with their wonderfully sumptuous costumes make this a great piece of children’s theatre for these holidays.

Copyright © in the review belongs to the reviewer

While Theatre Beating’s radical reworking of the classic Brothers Grimm tale plays out in Auckland under the title Rumplestilts, Wellington’s Kapital Kids Theatre offers a relatively straight upbeat adaptation of Rumpelstiltsken [sic]. 

Adapted and directed by Bea Lee-Smith with a light touch and lots of songs – sometimes bringing new words to well-known tunes – it’s well pitched for their target audience and fun for adults too. And it’s good to look at, with the fine story-book costumes – from The Costume Cave or made by producer Anna Burns – becoming more and more golden as the story progresses.

Rodney Bane revels in the title role of the "gnarly goblin from in the woods." Hazel Oxborough takes Esmeralda, the miller’s daughter, through a full range of emotions with great clarity and sure timing. Matt Clayton makes an amiable buffoon of her father, Jim.

This version has a Queen Mildred, rather than a King, who is played as a witty commentary on the fatuousness of privilege by Amalia Calder. Her strong singing voice is an extra blessing.  While a little soft of spoken voice, Mason Villi’s Prince Heathcliffe is a gem of innocent infatuation and subtle humour.

As a pair of comic narrators, palace servants and general functionaries to the story, Johanna Cosgrove and Abby Damen do well as Balladeers Jeeves and Briggs, with Cosgrove’s saxophone an amusing bonus. Anita Abeygoonasekra’s splendid piano and keyboards playing accompany the songs throughout.

While the values prevailing at the palace are extolled with a rousing variation on ‘Oom Pah Pah’ from Oliver, Rumpelstiltsken’s nocturnal spinning of straw into gold is facilitated by a parody of the ‘Oompa Loompa’ song from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, with Jeeves and Briggs playing the loom spindles, turning a wheelbarrow-load of straw-coloured gauze into strips of gold lamé.

Other songs include Spandau Ballet’s ‘Gold’, Shania Twain’s ‘From This Moment On’, Abba’s ‘I do I do I do I do I do’, the old-time favourite ‘Baby Face’, ‘Goldfinger’ (from the James Bond film) … I assume the gnarly goblin song is original.

What, then, does this telling of the tale impart to impressionable young minds? If the original warns against bragging and making rash promises (as when the miller claims his daughter can spin straw into gold), that’s lost sight of in this production: Jim the Miller registers no guilt whatever at the position he’s put his daughter in, and although he does try to help her meet the goblin’s challenge later, he falls short of doing so and gets no other come-uppance.

Even though Rumpelstiltsken is a grotty little grump, he is a gifted artisan who labours through the night for the benefit of others. And while his deal-making demands for recompense do become increasingly outrageous (asking for her first-born child is a bit extreme), Esmeralda does agree to them, rather than realise what a slippery slope such deviousness can place you on. And she prospers as a result.

When at last Esmeralda gets the answer and averts the horror of losing her child, with due help from the audience (well handled in this production), Rump is written off as a horrid little man and admonitions like "Can’t you do anything out of the goodness of your heart?" and "See where being selfish gets you?" There is more than a whiff of upper-class put-down of the lower orders in the message. Or maybe it’s more that small ugly people have no rights.

Esmeralda does at least come clean at the end by telling the truth, which brings no dire consequences because hey, they’re all royally rich and happy now, so what does it matter?

Of course those who do take kids to the show may find it generates a great opportunity to discuss the right and wrongs, goods and bads of it all. Good luck.

Copyright © in the review belongs to the reviewer