Stories as you’ve never seen before
★★★★☆
The beauty of fringe theatre is that companies find ways to test and play, audiences more willing to take a risk on something less familiar. In the deceptively large space of The Cockpit, Box House Theatre have crafted something quite ingenuous and unique that pushes the boundaries of stylistic storytelling with humour and heart front and centre.
Six actors are presented with a giant book, lying closed in front of them. Communicating through gesture and breath they open the book and step onto its pages before cascading through fairytales and legends. The book gifts the actors voice and purpose, moving in super slick choreography and comedic rhythm. The vocal foley is spectacular adding vibrancy and texture to the movement, effective in furthering the storytelling. We dive into Goldilocks, Red Riding Hood, Alice and Wonderland before closing with the tale of Ragnar Lodbrok and his Viking sons, each altered to enhance the comedy, adding humorous twists and surprising endings - not dissimilar to in tone to Roald Dahl’s Revolting Rhymes.
The cast are seamless in their voice and movement - this is the show that drama students thought they were making but so much better. This works as a piece due to the complete commitment to the form by all six actors. They fluidly rotate the characters between them, one moment playing the big bad wolf, the next embodying a flower, throne or Chesire Cat. The pace does drop as they launch into the final tale, the story more complex than the more charming fairytales but the continuous injection of comedic flair means this is minimal and the award for most vivid recreation of an early medieval battle on a gym mat is a sure-fire win for this talented group.
I admit I am not quite sure if there was an overarching meaning on purpose to the narrative placed before me but I adored it nonetheless. Theatre relies on form-bending creatives finding new and innovative ways to convey stories and the folk at Box House Theatre are doing just that - a Camden Fringe hit.
Running till 26th August - Tickets