Hansel and Gretel at Shakespeare’s Globe

An ambitious adaptation of Grimm’s fairytale, Hansel and Gretel juxtaposes the stark lyricism of Simon Armitage’s poetry with a talented cast and a varied mix of dialogue, music and action. While some moments succeed in being magical, issues in sound projection and confused pacing hold the play back.

For the most part, the plot follows the original: Hansel (Ned Costello) and Gretel (Yasemin Özdemir) are abandoned in the woods by their parents (Harry Hepple and Beverly Rudd) because they can no longer afford to take care of them. The children discover a gingerbread house where a witch (also Beverly Rudd) kidnaps them, forcing Gretel to work while she fattens Hansel up. Finally, Gretel tricks the witch and kills her.

The actors radiate enthusiasm and are clearly enjoying themselves on stage. Notably, Rudd as the witch is having a smashing time and delivers a hilarious performance; Özdemir and Costello are similarly engaging. A majority of the story is narrated by Jenni Maitland, who displays plenty of fervour, but unfortunately, at times her voice doesn’t project particularly well within the space of the Globe, which can hinder understanding.

Director Nick Bagnall’s production can be hit–and–miss, with props by designer Rae Smith ranging from whimsical and inspired, such as when various birds appear in the forest, to bland and almost offensively disenchanted, such as the witch’s house itself. Rather than a magically alluring gingerbread house, it’s a plastic shed with a few garish stickers. Hardly a jaw-dropping prop.

Similarly, the music numbers work only about half the time. Magnus Mehta’s and Patrick J Pearson’s songs are fine on their own, and the musicians play the instruments well enough, but the singing isn’t always quite on par, and often the songs feel out of place, such as the ill-chosen rap about halfway through the play. Humperdinck this is not.

All this makes the Globe’s production of Hansel and Gretel a mixed bag: a generally enjoyable script with genuinely keen actors, but difficulties in sound projection that make it difficult to follow; some great choices and variety in the production but odd moments that don’t quite convince. It’s still perfectly entertaining, and generous and forgiving children are more likely to accept it than this critic, but none of this alters the fact that the seeds were there for H&G to be better than it is.

Michael Higgs
Photos: Ellie Kurttz

Hansel and Gretel is at Shakespeare’s Globe from 29^th November 2024 until 5^th January 2025. For further information or to book visit the theatre’s website here.

Watch the trailer for Hansel and Gretel at Shakespeare’s Globe here: