Hansel and Gretel, reuniting the fruitful pairing of writer Lucy Kirkwood with director Katie Mitchell, should make a younger audience think twice before scoffing fistfuls of sweets. It’s a spritely retelling of the classic tale, which starts with a clever prologue showing the Brothers Grimm so down on their luck that they’re reduced to wearing shoes made out of hedgehogs. They catch stories and run them through a fearsome machine; “Don’t sit on the confabulator!” is easily the best line I’ve been asked to shout out this December.
A hard-working quick-change cast of five burst into rhyme at moments of high emotion and spend a lot of time dashing about the storybook set carrying cut-out glittery fir trees. Ruby Bentall and Dylan Kennedy make perky siblings and there’s particularly cherishable work from Justin Salinger doubling as one of the Grimms and the children’s contrite father.
Most importantly, Kirkwood shows an excellent understanding of those concepts crucial to any children’s Christmas show, home and peril.
Hansel and Gretel in rep until January 26 (020 7452 3000, nationaltheatre.org.uk)
