Paul T Davies reviews Apple 'N' Spice presented by Sanskruti at the Mercury Theatre Colchester.
Apple ‘N’ Spice.
Mercury Theatre, Colchester.
26 June 2022
4 Stars
Tour Information Bringing together Western and Eastern cultures, this gorgeous family show enchanted the audience at the Mercury Theatre. Sanskruti, a Cambridge based emerging South Asian dance company, have woven together the tales of Snow White, (Apple), and Ramayana, (Spice), together to create a new fairy tale, one which offers redemption to the “evil” step mothers and encourages its young audience to consider a kinder way of life. It’s a forty-five-minute show that captivated the children in the audience, all willing to go on stage with the actors and learn a dance in a safe, encouraging environment.
The show succeeds so well because of the simplicity of its story telling. The narration is spoken by a child, instantly connecting with its target audience, and the shadow puppetry is enchanting. The dance, Bharatanatyam , is superb, the beating of feet on the floor I found particularly impressive, and even older members of the audience such as myself were able to join in! It’s a successfully interactive piece that really encouraged participation in a gentle way, I left as the younger audience members were on stage colouring their feedback sheets!
It's a charming experience, and perhaps my only criticism is that, for me, the show is a little short. However, it may be just long enough for the younger viewers, all of whom had a great time being entertained by this talented company.
SASKRUTI APPLE 'N' SPICE TOUR INFORMATION Join our Mailing List
Paul is a playwright, director, actor, academic, (he has a PhD from the University of East Anglia), teacher and theatre reviewer! His plays include Living with Luke, (UK tour 2016), Play Something, (Edinburgh Festival Fringe/Drayton Arms Theatre, London 2018), , (2019), and now The Miner’s Crow, which won the inaugural Artist’s Pick of the Fringe Award at the first ever Colchester Fringe Festival 2021. In lockdown 2020 he created the audio series Isolation Alan, available on Youtube, and performed online in the Voice Box Festival. He is the founder member of Stage Write, a Colchester based theatre company, and his acting roles include Rupert in How We Love by Annette Brook, first performed at the Vaults Festival 2020 and revived at the Arcola and at Theatre Peckham in 2021. Follow: @stagewrite_
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