frog, which – when given a kiss (and kisses solve a lot of things in this story) – turns into a prince so vain and smug that were he sugar-coated, he would probably join the masticating youngsters in the crowd and sit and eat himself. (Malcolm Jack)
REVIEW FESTIVE SPECTACLE THE WIZARD OF OZ Citizens’ Theatre, Glasgow, until Sat 3 Jan ●●●●● Adapting a much-loved film for the theatre is always tricky. At the Citz, led by Helen McAlpine giving gutsy, note- perfect Garland, they’ve opted for a live recreation of the experience of the 1939 movie. Whatever the format lacks in audience participation is made up for with clever use of the auditorium: witches good and bad pop up in puffs of smoke from the boxes and the Yellow Brick Road actually extends through the stalls, offering more anarchic audience members excellent opportunities to try and grab the Cowardly Lion’s tail. Funnily enough, the best moments come when the excellent cast, particularly Cara Kelly’s monstrous antebellum Wicked Witch of the West, deviate a little from the screenplay and offer the young audience something to react to. The directorial team better their celluloid source in terms of live magic, too, as glittering Emerald Cities, flying houses and certain, ah, melting moments of theatrical trickery elicit genuine gasps of wonder. (Kirstin Innes)
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Theatre
suspicion. But writer Megan Barker and director Al Seed probably haven’t done themselves any favours either by adapting Hans Christian Anderson’s famous snowy fairytale into a sort of garbled mini-panto, rather than something more subtle and enchanting that might have held its young audience’s concentration for a tad longer.
Still, it’s an entertaining 50 minutes thanks to some sprightly, joyful performances, as natty-of-wellies youngster Gerda (Charlene Boyd) adventures her way to the rescue of bestest pal Kay (Joe Arkley), who’s been abducted by the eponymous wintry sovereign. Brian Conaghan scores the two best roles, as the bulbous, gassy troll, and the oversized
as Aslan in this stage adaptation. Relinquishing power to Meg Fraser’s scarily off-kilter White Witch, he lets himself be tied in the shape of an inverted crucifix and finished off by her henchmen. Some time later, he returns from the
dead and is tended to by Susan and Lucy, ‘children of Eve’, telling these two latter-day Mary Magdalenes that he died for their brother’s sins. Whatever your beliefs, it’s heavy
stuff, which is why Mark Thomson’s production is pitched at an older-than- average audience, despite all its through-the-wardrobe magic. They won’t be disappointed by the snowy forest evoked by Ken Harrison’s set, the Potter-esque score by Philip Pinsky and the committed performances by the company, all of which do justice to the original.
Personally, I find it hard to engage with the priggish children, especially when the real power lies with Aslan and the White Witch, but that’s probably my class hatred speaking. (Mark Fisher)
REVIEW CHRISTMAS KIDS SHOW THE SNOW QUEEN Arches, Glasgow, until Sun 4 Jan ●●●●●
REVIEW FESTIVE FAIRYTALE BEAUTY AND THE BEAST Dundee Rep, until Sat 3 Jan ●●●●●
Dundee Rep ensemble’s take on the ultimate love-triumphs-over-adversity fairytale is a bit of a mixed bag. The story takes a while to warm up, with an overlong preamble leaving you longing for the star to hurry up and make his entrance. The show does pick up considerably after the Beast (a cross between the Minotaur and a crestfallen Mick Jagger) takes to the stage, and the second act, set mostly in the enchanted castle, is a romantic dream of mirrored rooms, levitating chairs and floating dinner plates. You certainly can’t fault the
commitment of the cast, with Gemma McIlhenney a feisty heroine and Alan Burgon creating a suitably pitiable figure as the hapless, lovelorn Beast. The supporting cast too provides amusing comic relief, switching between an assortment of human and animal characters. The courtship of the Beast’s maid and butler (Sally Reid and Richard Conlon) is particularly sweet and funny. But there’s almost no opportunity for the audience to get involved with the action and, with such wild veering from major to minor throughout, the show is never quite the sum of its parts. (Allan Radcliffe)
REVIEW ADAPTATION THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh, until Sat 3 Jan ●●●●●
If you’re in doubt about the Christian allegory lurking behind the Narnian fantasy of CS Lewis, just look at the treatment meted out to Daniel Williams
Playing to an audience of primary school kids, each clutching a bag of sweets, the cast of this Arches Christmas show were always going to struggle for attention, and the din of rustling throughout confirms this 98 THE LIST 11 Dec 2008–8 Jan 2009