The pantomime season is upon us and if, like me, you want to
go to the theatre without the risk of someone saying “It’s behind you” or
listen to the same tired jokes you've heard a thousand times before, fear not. There
is light in the forest of the Manchester theatre scene.
Into The Woods at
The Royal Exchange is an imaginative telling of Stephen Sondheim’s enchanting
musical. The story opens with a wealth of fairy-tale characters, including Little
Red Riding Hood, Cinderella and a wicked witch, all looking for their happily
ever- afters before embarking on various quests that require them to go into
the titular woods. Each character’s tale starts to intertwine amongst the trees
and branches, before they eventually reach the end of their stories, or so we
think. Soon we are shown what happens after happily ever after, and it’s not
all singing birds and friendly dwarves.
The Royal Exchange hold no punches with this production. The
second you walk into the theatre, you see large trees surrounding the
performance space, inviting the audience to go into the woods themselves to see
the show. The entire cast are amazing. Normally
when watching a show, it’s easy to see the standout star, but each cast member
shines, never missing a single beat. Some highlights from the show are Marc
Elliot and Michael Peavoy’s duet, ‘Agony’, which has the entire audience in
stitches with their perfect timing and sublime voices. It was a joy to watch. Gillian
Bevan’s portrayal of the Witch was a real showstopper and Natasha Cottriall
brought a wonderful mix of childish innocence, sass and edginess to the part of
Little Red Riding Hood.
The cast were just one part of this fantastic show. A
special mention has to go to director Matthew Xia, who rose to the challenge of
taking this epic musical and fitting it into the Exchange’s intimate venue.
This is greatly helped by Jenny Tirmani’s jaw-dropping set design, which looks
unassuming to begin with, but soon you feel you are sitting between towering
trees and being chased by monstrous giants.
If you are looking for a magical experience this festive
season there’s no reason to get lost in the thicket, just go into the woods, …or
the Royal Exchange.
Into The Woods runs until 16 Jan 2016
Words: John Mulholland
Image: Courtesy of The Royal Exchange
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