‘No, not the Disney version,” say the feminist theatre-makers RashDash at the start of this family show that gives fairytales a little shake up and rescues their heroines from passivity. It is not to be mistaken for the story of the princess with a dodgy stepmum and an over-developed talent for housework who hangs out in the forest with seven small men. This is the one about two loving sisters who invite a bear into their home, only to discover he’s a prince living under a curse.
The story-loving Snow White (Helen Goalen) and Rose Red (Abbi Greenland) keep reminding us that they are women, not girls. They go adventuring, they rescue the prince (Tom Penn), they redeem the wicked Graham (Edward Wren), whose heart has been frozen by tragedy, and they face down a terrifying creature that might simply be fear itself but comes in the guise of a show-stopping puppet.
Like Matilda, the pair take control of their own story and write their own happy ending – one that doesn’t conform to the original Brothers Grimm conclusion in which the sisters both marry princes and live happily ever after. Threaded through with some terrific songs, and some sly musical winks to Frozen, the tale is told with a metaphorical shrug of the shoulders. The Snow Angel (Becky Wilkie) does a nice line in irony.
There is a lot to like here for all ages, although the tone is sometimes uneven. The opening segment in the sisters’ cottage is a real pleasure, and delivers just the right kind of scary for a family audience with the arrival of the bear who has “a predilection for a flowery note in his tea”.
Just when things should become really exciting, as the sisters get out of their cosy cottage and face danger, the storytelling loses its thread. Although it’s always charming, the narrative lacks clarity and momentum, and the wordy encounters between the sisters and Graham become overextended and repetitive. With a little less dash and a little more dramaturgy the show may yet find its own way through the wood.
•At Battersea Arts Centre, London, until 30 December. Box office: 020-7223 2223.
