Writer: Ben Richards
Director: Will Cousins
Music: Eliza Waters
Is it Panto season already? Oh yes it is! And if you’re looking for a festive evening of family-friendly silliness, look no further than Rumpelstiltskin at Contact.
A joint production between The Big Tiny and Contact, the show is a whimsical, spirited adaptation of the traditional, much-loved tale in which a poor young village girl falls in love with a prince. When the prince begins his search for a bride, the girl seeks the help of a sinister imp to transform herself into a real princess. He agrees – but is the price she must pay worth it?
The show assaults the senses in the most fantastic way possible, if you’re looking for a gentle evening of quiet reflection, it’d be wise to give this one a swerve. If you’re sitting near the front, you can expect to get soggy, covered in streamers, and potentially have a new onstage love interest for the evening. The performers riff off the audience with ease, and every musical number is an irresistible invitation to clap and sing along.
Lewys Taylor is delightfully devilish as our titular character, oozing mischief and wonderfully caricatured villainy that has you booing and hissing in all the right places – and no review could be complete without mentioning his guitar-wielding take on an Arctic Monkeys classic. Director Ben Richards has his talented hands full to bursting as he pairs his directorial and set and costume design duties with the role of the bonkers and bawdy Winnie the Warden. Winks and nudges abound, expect plenty of talk about sausages.
A small note is that the use of violence feels a bit incongruous, with Winnie frequently giving her subordinate, Badges, a clip round the ear or a smack to the back of the head accompanied by a sound effect. It might have felt more in keeping with the show’s whimsy and silliness to elevate this into something more overtly cartoonish – an absurdly oversized sausage-frying pan, for example. It’s a minor niggle that only barely detracts, but the smacks do feel slightly jarring against the otherwise playful tone.
Rammed with energy, laughter, and both audience and onstage mischief, Rumpelstiltskin is a must-see pantomime — a rambunctious, razzle-dazzle rumble that’s a thoroughly unforgettable evening for all ages.
Runs until 31st December
