This would have to be the most unusual theatrical retelling of The Sleeping Beauty I've seen in some time. Perrault is credited as the source author while Liverpool-born, French artist and puppeteer Colette Garriger is the creator & main performer. The show is just arriving in the US now after an lengthy international tour, with performances scheduled from September 2010 on. Here's the official blurb:
At her birth they call her "Princess." Her fate is sealed. Left to her own devices and brilliant imagination, this modern day Princess pays off her debts and takes her skeletons out of the cupboard once and for all. Now arriving in the United States after an international tour comes a creative retelling of the Briar Rose tale joining shadow puppetry, object theater, and passionate monologue into a hard-hitting story filled with dark humor.Created by Liverpool-born, French-transplant artist and puppeteer Colette Garrigan.
* Funded in part by a Jim Henson Foundation Presenter's Grant (2010)
This version of Sleeping Beauty is closer to a nightmare than a fairytale. A girl grows up in a poor family in Liverpool, England. She is the youngest of seven. Her father dies. She gets farmed out to her grandmother who locks her in the cupboard under the stairs. She steals and thinks it is so exciting to be going in a police car that she waves to all the people she knows. She meets boys who lead her astray. And she knows she is a princess and that prince charming will arrive - even if it is in the form of a medical miracle.From the mind of creator and puppeteer Colette Garrigan comes a passionate monologue with shadow puppets about the loss of innocence and reality versus fairytale.... Garrigan is very much centre stage, and creates the shadow puppets primarily from herself and various unusual objects on the table in the centre of the stage. Forks become a forest, a toaster rack a shopping centre, all projected onto the white semi transparent screen hung at the back. This is not puppetry as most would know it, with only one brief scene using small hand operated puppets that are ingeniously fitted into a lampshade.
You can read the whole article HERE and see more performance photos from the company site HERE.
Starting today (April 8th) is a new mixed-discipline theatrical show is opening by The Performance Lab in Boston, called "Le Cabaret Grimm-a punk cabaret fairy tale (sans fairies)".
The show is unashamedly experimental with masks, puppets, circus acts, music and more thrown into the mix as they interpret some tales by the Brothers Grimm through a variety of Arts and styles, including steampunk, cabaret and burlesque. Music ranges from from R&B, to Tom Waits to Ska to the Dresden Dolls.
An article from wubr.org (which also has an interview you can listen to) explains the Director's thoughts behind melding the art forms on stage:
“There’s circus arts, and there’s burlesque and cabaret and all kinds of really fun alternative things going on in the city but people don’t really know about it — it’s all in segmented places,” Slavick explains. “And I want the Performance LAB to be a bridge between the mainstream arts community and the mainstream audience, and the fringe, experimental community in Boston. ”
From somewhere between Paris, Berlin and the bowels of the Bowery comes Le Cabaret Grimm, a punk cabaret tale of loss, longing, and desire - with a healthy dose of irony. We've got sexy girls and boys, conjoined twins, demons, and talking chickens. We'll take you on a journey drawn from the Tales of the Brothers Grimm, with music, mask, dance, and spectacle, led by the great chanteuse Veronique du Blahblahblah.
Each night we are joined by special guest performers. We bring you music, burlesque, circus, drag and more, hosted by the extraordinary Johnny Blazes.
Welcome to Le Cabaret Grimm!
I can't find any information on the use of the fairy tales or even which ones are being used except for this quote which reads: "We’re using these fun, contemporary styles to draw in the audience” says Slavick, “but we’re combining them with classic tales that have a universal quality and resonate deeply.” (source: StageSource) I'm very curious as to which tales are incorporated and the few photos available don't give many clues but it's interesting to think of any fairy tales being presented this way. I wish the 'LAB' every success.
If you're interested and can get to Boston in time, the show runs through April 24th, 2010.
This is wonderfully thematic with the Winter Olympics now underway, especially as there are Russian Olympians involved.
Currently touring the UK (and playing in New Theatre, HULL at time of this post) are the Russian Ice Stars in their production of (a very Russian version) of Snow White. By turns dramatic, comedic and gracefully balletic the production apparently uses impressive theatrical effects and athletic circus-type performances. It's also reported to be well rooted in European tales and traditions, making for a very entertaining and fresh Snow White, complete with world class skating. There's a nice website with information (including details about the skaters, with their incredibly impressive resumes), images and movies HERE.
I've read a number of very favorable reviews but one by Angie Johnson of The Oxford Times was both informative and mentioned the use of symbolism in the story as well as other tales. Here's an excerpt:
With a new take on a classic tale, the Russian Ice Stars were back with their latest spectacular, Snow White. Exploding on to the iced-over New Theatre stage with thrilling skating, it also featured lush costumes and sets, plus some cunning theatrical effects that I can’t work out how they did. The show is very Russian in feel, and this is a very good thing.
...From among the very high-calibre cast I was particularly struck with the performances of Svetlana Kuprina as Queen Drina, the evil stepmother, to the fresh and innocent Snow White of Irina Tkachuk. These two spark off each other brilliantly in their pas de deux, one epitomising darkness and the other light. I was also delighted by the comic turn of Ekaterina Murugova and Sergei Smirnov as geese who lead the abandoned Snow White to the safety of the Woodcutters’ House – they were rather like The Magic Flute’s Papageno and Papegena, ...
It won't be here in time for Valentine's Day but there's a fairy tale romantic movie coming our way.
The new film, "Ondine", (coming to theaters possibly as early as June this year), stars Colin Farrell and is directed by veteran director Neil Jordan. The movie's story has much in common with both "The Little Mermaid" & water nymph fairy tales as well as the ballet (which is based on the fairy tale novel "Undine" by Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué, which in turn was based on various folktales). You can read more about Motte Fouqué's story HERE, the plot of which is now usually considered a fairy tale in its own right. From FirstShowing.net:
Written and directed by Neil Jordan (of The Crying Game, Interview with the Vampire, The Brave One), Ondine is a lyrical modern fairy tale that tells the story of Syracuse (Colin Farrell), an Irish fisherman whose life is transformed when he catches a beautiful and mysterious woman (Alicja Bachleda) in his nets. His daughter Annie comes to believe that the woman is a magical creature, while Syracuse falls helplessly in love. However, like all fairy tales, enchantment and darkness go hand in hand. A story of love, hope and the unwavering belief in the impossible. Magnolia is distributing in the US but hasn't set a release date yet.
Here's a little more about the movie (and the making of it) from TheStar.com's interview with director Neil Jordan:
The importance of imagination and the challenges of creating a fairy tale in a less than magical environment were the main themes of an afternoon press conversation for the film Ondine.
The movie, directed by Neil Jordan and starring Colin Farrell, is about an Irish fisherman who finds a young woman in his net who he believes is a mermaid.
"I went back to Ireland and just had this image of a fisherman who had caught a girl in his net and it was a very captivating image," said Jordan.
He added, "People need a sense of fantasy in their lives to be able to live."
Jordan said he wanted to make the film reflect the "reality," of working life for many people in Ireland, but still create a sense of magic.
"The fairy tale romps into peoples lives, but turns out to be based incredibly in reality," he said. "In a strange way, reality is its own fairy tale."
Here's some notes on writing the screenplay from Jordan via FlicksNews:
During the Writer's Strike a Hollywood project fell through - Heart Shaped Box. I went back to Ireland where I have a house in West Cork and wrote this fairy tale, which could shoot entirely within a radius of five miles from where I live. About a fisherman, who pulled up a living girl in his net. His disabled daughter, who invented stories about her. These stories feed on local legends - sea creatures, seal creatures, selkies. How they only have a certain time on land. How they fall in love with their rescuer. How they can make a wish come true. How the sea always calls them back.
Much of what the girl invents turns out to be true, but never in ways she expected. The whole thing develops into an impossibly romantic love story, in which real human beings insist on turning their lives into a fairy tale. Because reality is too hard, maybe. Because that is what we love to do, have to do, maybe…
Not just fairy-tale based but described as 'a fairy tale', it appears to be a story of the older, folktale type, rather than the pop-culture type and a well layered, romantic story. (Yay!)
The fairy tale of Ondine has mainly been kept in people's memory by two treatments:
1) Arthur Rackham's incredibly gorgeous illustrations of the fairy tale (see some of them below)
2) The ballet "Ondine", made even more popular by the legendary British prima ballerina assoluta Margot Fonteyn for whom it was a signature role (even when she was dancing in her 60's - see a couple of pics below).
You can also see some gorgeous images from the underwater photo shoot for a recent production by The Royal Ballet in one of my previous posts HERE.
A lesser known Broadway production also helped the story stay in the popular consciousness though - especially when Audrey Hepburn played the role of the water nymph, Ondine. Here are some promotional photos taken for the production:
The movie sounds very promising and is getting positive reviews, having been shown on the Indie film circuit. Word is, even if you're not a Colin Farrell fan, it's worth a look. It's attracting critical attention and has already garnered multiple nominations for the seventh IFTA's (Irish Film & Television Awards).
Here's the first trailer (it should be noted that the film does NOT turn into a thriller or horror as the trailer seems to imply- the film is primarily a romance and a study in hope, with a good dose of mystery):
Korea National Ballet's Cinderella (Jan 29 to 31, 2010, Seoul Arts Center) is more dynamic than the traditional presentation and offers unique touches, twists and theater craft (eg Cinderella's mother and father are both shown in a touching relationship at the start before the mother dies and returns as a fairy-in-a-corset to look after Cindy the rest of the story; Cinderella is barefoot for most of the performance - including for the ball, in which her feet are dipped in a sparkling sequin dust; etc)
A Russian fairy tale suitable for the Christmas season!
It seems rather difficult to find 'Christmas fairy tales' but this one, based on the tale "Christmas Eve" by Nikolay Gogol is an operatic adaptation by Tchaikovsky. Gogol was/is a celebrated Russian writer who wrote magic realism, and is also credited with the story behind the piece "Night on Bare/Bald Mountain" which was animated by Disney for Fantasia. Gogol's stories are widely known and loved by many generations of Russians and his tales are also said to have had a profound influence on the celebrated literary writers Nabakov and Dostoevsky.
It's the first time this particular opera is being performed in London Here's the write-up from the Royal Opera House in London, where it's to be performed from November 20th to December 8th, 2009:
Many of Tchaikovsky’s stage works are unjustly neglected outside Russia. Now one of the most charming of all, Cherevichki (The Tsarina’s Slippers*), comes to London for the first time, under the baton of Alexander Polianichko and with an almost entirely Russian cast. Based on a Christmas tale by Gogol that mixes realistic village comedy with fairytale fantasy, the plot describes how Vakula the blacksmith flies on the Devil’s back to St Petersburg to request a pair of little leather slippers worn by the Tsarina herself in order to win the hand of his beloved Oxana.
Apparently the more accurate meaning of the Russian word translated as 'slippers' is actually closer to 'dressy boots'. A criticism of the English presentation is that it's far too genteel. That and the fact that it's a comic opera that will be sung entirely in Russian with English subtitles - how to kill the timing! The French billed the opera as Les Caprices d'Oksana, which apparently sets a more appropriate and comedic tone, as the whims of the lady in question do indeed set things into comic motion.
Here's a wonderful promotional animated trailer for the new production:
You can read all about the story 'Christmas Eve' HERE on Wikipedia or HERE at the Royal Opera House's website and you can find more information about the performances HERE, also at the Royal Opera House's website.
LATE ADDITION: I just saw an article on the production which talks about how magical and delightful this comic opera is. You can read it HERE.
Coming to Brentford (UK) for one performance on November 28th, 2009 is "Dark Fairy Tales" by the Theatre of Continuous Performance. I haven't been able to find much additional information about this show so I'll just copy the press release here for you:
Writer and director, Anjan Saha teams up with projectionist, Al Livingstone to present a magical enchanted world of Dark Fairytales at Waterman's Art Centre in London Road, Brentford.
Pioneering their self -styled, Theatre of Continuous Performance, where spoken word merges with light illuminations to create mesmerizing images, fairytales of Indian, African and European origin will be presented with a dark twist.
Featuring some of the best literary talents including poets and acclaimed performers Dzifa Benson, El Crisis, Philip Lawder, storyteller, Bhavit Mehta and Blues music guitarist and singer, Robert Hokum, Dark Fairy Tales, gives us a whole new interpretation of the dangers that might befall the unwary this Xmas!
"...Fairytales speak through beasts to explore common experiences - fear of sexual intimacy, terror and violence, injustice, and struggles for survival. The fairytales themselves, growing out of the spoken word, become part of legislating fabric, and by issuing warnings about what happens to kings and princesses, sharks and other beasts who don't keep their promises, reminds us to keep ours." (Marina Warner, writing for The Guardian)
The images in this post are by Verena Paloma Jabs.
From her website:
"Verena creates child-like and seemingly innocent silhouettes of animals and figures, morphed with a digitally created background of imaginary landscapes, naïve wonderlands, and dark dreamscapes. Verena says, "I am fascinated by the innocent imagery of the pictorial illustrations which often accompany fairy-tales, while the narrative itself is often dark and uncanny. Being of English and Russian ancestry, and growing up in Germany before attending school and university in England, I have a keen interest in how different cultures mirror each other's stories and heritage. Living in an era in which advertising and visual media are overpowering our imagination for commercial purposes, fairy-tales as told to children still harbour a sense of humankind's most ancient fantasies, fears, and desires."
Verena has a new exhibition called "Diamond Tears", featuring the artwork shown in this post and more. It opened on November 13, 2009 at the Tatty Devine Brick Lane Gallery space in London. You can find more information about Verena and see more of her lovely work, which covers a wide range of media HERE.
Forest Forge Theatre Company in Hampshire (UK) has created an adaptation of Grimm's Ashputtel for the stage just in time for Christmas.
In a season when fractured fairy tales and 'panto' Cinderellas take over the stage (at least until Nutcracker season starts) it's refreshing to see the very different "Ashputtel - A Cinderella Story", based on the the Grimm's fairy tale, on offer as a Christmas family show. This one, doesn't have the extreme characters (ie. ugly sisters, often in drag) found in the panto versions but offers a different type of family-friendly story. In this production, as in the tale it's adapted from, Ashputtel has no godmother, fairy or otherwise, but there's plenty of magic...
From Salisbury Journal:
“I think Ashputtel is the best Christmas story there is and the one that fascinates me the most,” she says. “It is about identity and growing up, a real coming of age, following the seasons of the year and beginning and ending in wintertime. The story makes for a lovely family show.” (says Kristie, Artistic Director of Forest Forge)
Kirstie uses five actor musicians to tell Ashputtel’s story, and there isn’t a fairy in sight. Ashputtel plants a twig by her mother’s grave that grows to become a magic tree that cannot be chopped down (Edit FTNH: and showers Ashputtel with marvelous ball dresses). “The magic of the story is that the tree is her mother looking out for her,” says Kirstie. “It really is a beautifully inventive tale.”
I'm curious to see the response to this version of Cinderella (did I read about puppet knives, toes and heels in the Director's blog? The knives, toes and heels are probably just props, but still, not your average prop list for a family show!) and I'd love to see how the seasons work in. Unfortunately I don't think Forest Forge have enough funding to attempt overseas tours (yet). Perhaps I'll get lucky and someone will film it...
The Forest Forge Theatre Company website HERE also has the interesting Director's blog I mentioned, in which she writes/reflects on the development of "Ashputtel - The Cinderella Story" and the rehearsal process. You can read the blog HERE.Forest Forge started their tour this week on the 12th of November and will continue touring until January 16th, 2010. You can find more information about where they will be performing HERE.
Note: Yes, I know I said I'd be posting on steampunk Cinderella and that IS coming but this is breaking news I must share:
There's a new theatrical production of Sleeping Beauty - a steampunk production!
From the time traveling narrator to the set, to the symbolism included in the steampunk influenced costumes, right through to incorporating some traditional ballet-mime gestures from the ballet, this is a Sleeping Beauty that combines the old and the new - literally.
Promotional photo of the Sleeping Beauty production from Storybook Theatre
Here are some excerpts from an article I read yesterday to give you some examples of how the steampunk aspect is employed:
There is also (the) narrator of this tale, which gives the play a true "storybook" feel. But rather than make the narrator be just a regular person, MPC's creative team has turned the narrator into a time traveler who can transcend the years while the lovely princess sleeps.
The creative symbolism goes even further with the artistry of costume designer Kathleen O'Brien, who has taken the fairy princess gowns and added elements of steampunk.
"It's a fun Edwardian romantic style, then you have bits of sprockets of cameras, computers, springs, parts or entire pieces mixed into costumes," said Rosa. "It's an interesting juxtaposition of the Victorian era look with things that are outside that era."
...The theme of timelessness is also incorporated into the set design by Ramie Wikdahl. "The set is wonderful," said Rosa. "It has a Tuscan Renaissance feel to it. Then there is a steampunk element in the land of magic — the fairy section of the set. There is a romance feel and feeling of time passing as well. The stone wall is crumbling down into the land of fairies."
Apparently this version has more than one prince trying to rescue Sleeping Beauty - two that fail and one that doesn't, though whether he breaks the spell or just happens to have good timing is often not explained. I'm curious to see if this production does.
Speaking of time, I love this idea of Sleeping Beauty, steampunk and time travel. I've always thought the spinning wheel is a good symbol of time and it works doubly well for the steampunk approach (gears, wheels etc).
The director/choreographer Carol Heiland-Rosa says this production is aimed at the family with fun and wonder for younger children to enjoy but also layers of symbolism and humor the adults will enjoy.
Carol Heiland-Rosa
"This is a very fun version of Sleeping Beauty,'" said Rosa. Many of the fun adaptations are the handiwork of writer Michele Vacca, whose work is known for its ability to mesmerize young audiences while at the same time having enough wit and style to entertain adults.
From the Monterey Peninsula College's website:
Michele L. Vacca's scripts are distinguished by their proven ability to entertain and educate younger audiences, while having the style, verve, and wit to fascinate adults.
The production is being put on by Monterey Peninsula College's Storybook Theatre and had their first performance last night (there was also a preview night on Thursday) and is set to run for three consecutive weekends through to November 22nd. While Storybook Theatre uses theater arts students as part of the production, the standard is professional and company highly regarded. Not surprisingly, some of the shows are already sold out.
Here's the information from the end of the article:
·What: MPC Storybook Theatre presents "Sleeping Beauty" ·Where: MPC Studio Theatre, Monterey Peninsula College, 980 Fremont St., Monterey ·When: Opens at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 6; continues at 7 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 3p.m. Saturday and Sunday matinees through Nov. 22 ·Tickets: $9-$15, with group discounts available, at MPC Box Office (646-4213) 3-7p.m Wed-Fri. and two hours prior to each show, or online at www.TicketGuys.com/mpc ·Information: 646-4213 or www.mpctheatre.com
For another Sleeping Beauty story involving time travel you can check out Sheri S. Tepper's "Beauty". This book, while centered around the Sleeping Beauty story, retells the stories of other fairy tale heroines too - eg Snow White, Cinderella and more - in a fractured fairy tale-type way. Tepper is known for tackling social issues in her books, such as environmentalism and women's issues and this book is no different. There's an interesting positive review HERE and a different informative one HERE.Regarding the play, I'd dearly love to see this unique production but after much time spent trying figure out my travel options from LA I don't think I can manage it. If anyone attends I'd love to hear what you thought - make sure you go get your tickets ASAP, before it completely sells out.
Since we're looking at Bollywood today, as little bonus for you I found an interview from 2008 with choreographer, Prashanthi Chitre, about her Bollywood version of Cinderella.
From the summary:
The musical numbers you see in Indian film, or Bollywood film, are telling a story. They do that with a mishmash of traditional Hindi, Latin American, and MTV dancing. But for many Westerners, that kind of storytelling is still tough to understand. Local choreographer Prashanthi Chitre grew up in India, and she loved Bollywood style dancing. Her lifelong dream has been to translate the joy and excitement she found in that dancing for everyone, especially non–Indians. But it wasn't until she saw her first Western ballet here in Seattle that she realized how she could do it. She tells Jeannie Yandel the story.
Indian beauty Deepika Padukone as Cinderella (inspired by Annie Leibovitz's photo of Scarlett Johansson as Cinderella. Found HERE)
You can listen to the audio HERE - the interview starts 14 minutes into the recorded radio program. She talks a lot about why Cinderella works well for Indian audiences, interpreting the Indian joy of fantasy for Western audiences and - of course - dancing.
You can read more about the production of "Cinderella - A Bollywood Ballet" HERE.
My thanks to 'Anonymous' for pointing me in the direction of this production. Here's their comment in response to Monday's post that set this post in motion:
I'm in NY and there's a great show at The New Victory Theater in Times Square of Hansel and Gretel: LINK
They basically re-did the whole theater from top to bottom as the haunted forest of H&G!
'Anonymous' wasn't kidding - throughout this post you can see some pictures from the Scottish Catherine Wheels Theater Co., production.Here's an excerpt from the article:
Mounted throughout the theater, which is transformed into a cluttered, old haunted house with swirling nets, mad drawings and a variety of art installations made of dolls, the production begins downstairs, where a cellist plays tunes by the Bay City Rollers inside the 1970s-style house of Hansel and Gretel. As soon as the two (played by the apple-cheeked actors Tommy Joe Mullins and Ashley Smith) start dropping bread crumbs, the audience is led upstairs through a hallway backstage and around a maze assembled inside the theater.
It goes on to describe how the audience are, at one point, seated along a large dinner table, as if guests at the over-the-top feast (see below).And here's a description from Theater Mania :
The Grimm brothers' fairytale will literally unfold from the top to the bottom of the theater, and theatergoers, in groups of a 100, will follow the action from, according to press notes, a "kitschy 1970s inspired home through a spooky forest and into the dangerous clutches of a bald-headed witch who is at once nasty, funny, and completely off-her-rocker."
The show is aimed to be child-friendly so, despite the subject matter, the show is designed to be enjoyed by most ages (I would caution against very young children attending). The British Theater Guide HERE gives a good write-up of the show and addresses its suitability for children. I'd see it based on this report alone, if I could.Here's a trailer which gives a good idea of how the whole show is staged:
I love the whole 'leading the audience through the woods and making them a part of the scenes' approach. This is exactly the sort of thing I loved doing in theater when I had a chance - the show was different every time because it partly depended on the audience's involvement and partly because the close proximity with the audience provided opportunities for improvisation that the traditional audience-on-the-floor-actors-on-the-stage simply couldn't. Possibly the best result from staging a production like this, though, is that anyone who comes to the production will remember it forever. And this is why it's so important to do a REALLY good job!
The article - link HERE (the same as the link above) - is a very good review, hi-lighting both the good and the bad of such an adventurous show. Overall, the show is a recommended experience - it's currently sold out and has a wait list - and I sincerely wish I could go.From the copy: “Hansel and Gretel” runs through Nov. 1 at the New Victory Theater, 229 West 42nd Street, Manhattan; (646)223-3010, newvictory.org.
This would have to be the most unusual theatrical retelling of The Sleeping Beauty I've seen in some time. Perrault is credited as the source author while Liverpool-born, French artist and puppeteer Colette Garriger is the creator & main performer. The show is just arriving in the US now after an lengthy international tour, with performances scheduled from September 2010 on.
Created by Liverpool-born, French-transplant artist and puppeteer Colette Garrigan.
From the mind of creator and puppeteer Colette Garrigan comes a passionate monologue with shadow puppets about the loss of innocence and reality versus fairytale.
... Garrigan is very much centre stage, and creates the shadow puppets primarily from herself and various unusual objects on the table in the centre of the stage. Forks become a forest, a toaster rack a shopping centre, all projected onto the white semi transparent screen hung at the back. This is not puppetry as most would know it, with only one brief scene using small hand operated puppets that are ingeniously fitted into a lampshade.
