Chris Eldon Lee reviews ‘Twisted Fairy Tales’, which is at Shrewsbury’s old Dana Prison until December 23rd.
The Dana is a scary place anyway, especially at night. Which is one of the reasons why guided tours of Shrewsbury’s old prison have proved so popular. I lived in its shadow myself for ten years and there was always the temptation to try to peer in to see what you can see whenever the doors were briefly open. So this new idea of staging a scary fairy tales evening within its walls and cells is a jolly good idea….though the execution of it didn’t quite match the imagination.
We are met by Dorothy (from Kansas) in her bright red shoes and warned not to touch any of the performers – though they might touch us. And then there’s an hour-long tour through the eerie building to witness a number of twisted tales being acted out; part fright night, part burlesque. At times it felt like being on a ghost train…without the train. In the Sixties we might have called it a ‘happening’.
Each of the short scenes is based on something Grimm (or Disney). For example, a pale and wan damsel in distress screams a great deal … and who can blame her when something ugly emerges from under her bed. Later a particularly voluptuous not-so-little Red Riding Hood enthusiastically pole dances (this is where the touching comes in) whilst a Welsh drag Grannie metamorphoses.
It’s very well organised. Our small party was handed from guide to guide, each in character. A psychotic Tinkerbell with droopy wings, pining for Peter Pan, was my favourite; though you soon learned not to answer back. Later we are the studio audience for an episode of the Jeremy Vile Show, whose guest is a pregnant Snow White. So, one of the dwarfs must have been taller than we thought.
They are all clever ideas; high on ingenuity and effort … but short on poise and polish. Think of student sketches rather than RADA, and you’ll get the measure of it all. The presentation was uncomfortably aggressive at times and the language was boringly blue. Occasional, well placed, swear words always have much more impact than a tirade.
Naturally we end up meeting Santa…who is clearly having a bad Christmas. The fact that Mrs Claus has all the best jokes, probably doesn’t help.
The thing about those Sixties ‘happenings’ is that whilst they were often rough and ready…the important thing was you could say ‘I was there’. Approach ‘Twisted Tales’ in the same Christmas Spirit, and you will have an interesting evening.