Kneehigh impress yet again in Warwick Arts Centre performance

SPICING up old stories is Kneehigh Theatre’s speciality and The Wild Bride is a wonderful example of their invention and ingenuity.

Director Emma Rice has rewritten the Grimm fairytale The Handless Maiden, in which a poor father sells his daughter to the devil by mistake. When the devil complains that he can’t get near the girl because she’s too pure, the father covers her in mud and is forced to chop off her hands. The mutilated girl then wanders through the wilderness where she is caught by a prince trying to steal his pears.

The Scottish prince (played by Stuart Goodwin who doubles up as the father) is hilarious as he dances around in his kilt. They fall in love and and he provides her with new metal hands. After he is called to war by the devil, the bride and her child are forced to survive in the wilderness for seven years. It is only when the bride finally sees off the devil she is reunited with her husband.

The girl is played by three women at different stages of her life. They all use music and dancing to great effect. Audrey Brisson, the youngest girl, has a haunting voice and the wild girl, Patrycja Kujawska, plays the violin beautifully. Eva Magyar, as the third version of the girl, does not speak but conveys her emotions in a brilliant dance routine.

Stuart McLoughlin’s sinister and yet comic portrayal of the devil is the stand-out performance. He also narrates the story and sings and plays country and western-style music.

The music (composed by Stu Barker), singing, dancing are wonderful and raise the level of the production to one of Kneehigh’s best. The set, an entanglement of trees and ladders, is impressive and there are some moments to savour, especially the pear tree hung with light bulbs.

A young, enthusiastic arts centre audience gave the performance a rapturous reception.

Peter Gawthorpe