Hansel and Gretel at the Barbican - NOT for small or easily scared children!

[Marina]

Went to see this with dd this afternoon. It was imaginative and interesting but it is definitely for over-eights imo.
On balance I agree with the reviewer - memorable, but so is getting a flat tyre...

Hmm well we are off to see what is, by all accounts, a pretty dark and gory Cinderella at the Lyric Hamnmersmith on Tuesday...Hope it won't be a flat tyre!

Marina - I do agree about the over-eights (and, incidentally, having read the reviews of the other Hansel & Gretel (at the ROH) I am so very glad that I chose the Barbican one for my just-8 dd).

I specially agree about 8 as the cut-off because ds (9.5) wasn't concerned at all (kept collaring ushers and encouragingly stage-whispering "This is all so convincing" - oh, though they were both bothered about what had happened to the children whose toys were lying abandoned in the forest) whereas dd was on the very very edge of fright-management and at the end said "Did we really go outside? Or were we in the theatre all the time?"

I'm pretty sure it was exactly the immersive element that got dd so - the disorientation.

I had to keep reassuring dd that they were clever actors and would be presenting the same story again later that day bink
Yes, the ROH production has been carpeted! Are you also seeing The Thief of Baghdad btw
Katisha, is that the infamous Cinderella = slut production?!

Yes it's the slut one, although I gather they've toned the languagae down a bit since the previews. It's been getting good reviews so hopefully the DSs (9 and 7) can cope with the original Grimm goreyness...

"Slut" went, didn't it. Agree, it has had great reviews, hope you enjoy it katisha (dd's other Christmas treat was to a horrendous production of Cinderella at the Churchill in Bromley! Ugly Sisters = Peaches and Pixie )

Well the Lyric Hammersmith one was really very good - we all hugely enjoyed it and the gory bits were done in quite a funny way really so no trauma!