‘Sharp as an axe and strange as a dream’ – so the Bride of Kneehigh Theatre’s coming-of-age ‘feminist folk tale’ is called, and a description very apt for the play itself. Director Emma Rice and her cast of multitalented actor-musicians drag their audience back through a thorny hedge and into an intoxicating space where beauty and horror, comedy and tragedy, the childlike and the disturbing intertwine, cementing their reputation for multidimensional, escapist theatre.
After being sold accidentally by her father in a Faust-like pact with the devil, one woman (a role divided seamlessly between three actors) forms the emotional core in this allegorical epic of endurance. Kneehigh’s unique storytelling pushes the narrative along by combining a live blues band, fluid and impressive physical theatre and bang-on comic timing.
While the scope of the story is grand, the company’s innovative attention to detail is crucial – designer Bill Mitchell transforms the Arts Centre stage into a kind of lightening-struck barnyard, a particular delight being the pear tree with light bulbs as fruit, and a deer puppet apparently made of twigs. Despite its homespun feel, ‘The Wild Bride’ never veers into the twee or whimsical; this backwoods fairy tale is more Brothers Grimm (or perhaps Brothers Coen) than Disney.
That said, it is a playful production which keeps us laughing throughout – Carl Grose’s often comedic verse is a joy, and the company constantly toy with conventions of theatre and genre; at times self-referential, and yet the audience become so immersed that the frequent breaking of the fourth wall feels completely natural rather than hammy.
Judging by the bursts of spontaneous applause and standing ovation on opening night, it’s clear that the audience have been seduced by Kneehigh. The devil demands of us, ‘Who the hells next?’ catch this excellent show before it moves on this Saturday and it could be you.
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