Into the Woods Jr (Curve Young Company)
If you're a connoisseur of Stephen Sondheim you could easily be confused by the junior (or should I call it youth) version of his fairytale musical (jointly written with James Lapine), which seems to completely remove a large portion of the storyline and perhaps even the moral to the tale which fundamentally suggests that we should all be careful what we wish for as even if we get it, it might not be quite what we had expected.
What makes this particular production work however is the sheer depth of talent on stage and the way an inventive multi-level set from Eleanor Field is utilised to the full by Director, Siobhan Cannon-Brownlie and Choreographer, Jessica Vaughan.
Central to the plot are Matt Hilton's strong performance as the Baker and Rose Caldwell's incredible voice and sheer acting presence as the Baker's Wife, challenged by a Witch, played with supreme confidence by Phoebe Lewis to find a number of items in order to guarantee themselves a child.
In parallel Jack, a larger than life performance from Joe Walden is told by his mother (the commanding Charlotte Burnett), to sell the cow, Milky White (Freya Banerjee) for no less than five pounds but, parts with said cow for a few beans.
Cinderella (a touching and soulful performance from Gabriella Robinson), having lost her mother (Carmen Farrell) is looking for a way to attend the ball, despite the efforts of her stepmother (Isabella Cowan) and annoying stepsisters, Florinda (Rebecca Willis) and Lucinda (Poppy Mullen-Thomson).
Rapunzel (sister of the Baker, are you keeping up with the twists and turns of this plot ?) stolen at birth from her parents by the Witch and played with innocent charm by Jennifer Brown, finds herself locked in a door-less tower (strangely nobody ever asks how she got in there, must be magic).
Both Cinderella and Rapunzel are pursued by a Prince (as you would expect, wouldn't you ?), in Cinderella's case played by Alfie Bright and that of Rapunzel by Morgan Evans, both 'royal' performances with an eye and ear catching rendition of the song 'Agony'.
Finally weaving her way between all of these stories is Little Red Riding Hood, another vocally outstanding performance from Lola Spiteri, pursued by a scary Wolf (Suraj Shah) and eaten by the same carnivore only to be rescued by the Baker along with her previously consumed Granny (Grace Richardson).
Keeping the story moving are a Mysterious Man (actually the Baker's Father), played with requisite mystery by Brandon Fletcher and a team of Narrators, have to admit I only noticed two but, three are quoted in the programme and it would be remiss of me not to mention them all, Anya Daya, Arlo Mulligan-Vassel and Yasmina Berraoui who all keep the pace high a vital piece of the overall production.
There is an extensive ensemble cast who all play their part in making this a highly enjoyable piece of musical theatre, sadly I am reviewing the final performance so if you haven't seen this spectacle you will have to wait for the next piece from the Curve Young Company and I am sure it will be worth waiting for.
More about Curve Young Company
What makes this particular production work however is the sheer depth of talent on stage and the way an inventive multi-level set from Eleanor Field is utilised to the full by Director, Siobhan Cannon-Brownlie and Choreographer, Jessica Vaughan.
Central to the plot are Matt Hilton's strong performance as the Baker and Rose Caldwell's incredible voice and sheer acting presence as the Baker's Wife, challenged by a Witch, played with supreme confidence by Phoebe Lewis to find a number of items in order to guarantee themselves a child.
In parallel Jack, a larger than life performance from Joe Walden is told by his mother (the commanding Charlotte Burnett), to sell the cow, Milky White (Freya Banerjee) for no less than five pounds but, parts with said cow for a few beans.
Cinderella (a touching and soulful performance from Gabriella Robinson), having lost her mother (Carmen Farrell) is looking for a way to attend the ball, despite the efforts of her stepmother (Isabella Cowan) and annoying stepsisters, Florinda (Rebecca Willis) and Lucinda (Poppy Mullen-Thomson).
Rapunzel (sister of the Baker, are you keeping up with the twists and turns of this plot ?) stolen at birth from her parents by the Witch and played with innocent charm by Jennifer Brown, finds herself locked in a door-less tower (strangely nobody ever asks how she got in there, must be magic).
Both Cinderella and Rapunzel are pursued by a Prince (as you would expect, wouldn't you ?), in Cinderella's case played by Alfie Bright and that of Rapunzel by Morgan Evans, both 'royal' performances with an eye and ear catching rendition of the song 'Agony'.
Finally weaving her way between all of these stories is Little Red Riding Hood, another vocally outstanding performance from Lola Spiteri, pursued by a scary Wolf (Suraj Shah) and eaten by the same carnivore only to be rescued by the Baker along with her previously consumed Granny (Grace Richardson).
Keeping the story moving are a Mysterious Man (actually the Baker's Father), played with requisite mystery by Brandon Fletcher and a team of Narrators, have to admit I only noticed two but, three are quoted in the programme and it would be remiss of me not to mention them all, Anya Daya, Arlo Mulligan-Vassel and Yasmina Berraoui who all keep the pace high a vital piece of the overall production.
There is an extensive ensemble cast who all play their part in making this a highly enjoyable piece of musical theatre, sadly I am reviewing the final performance so if you haven't seen this spectacle you will have to wait for the next piece from the Curve Young Company and I am sure it will be worth waiting for.
More about Curve Young Company
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