Rumpelstiltskin - The Carn

On Wednesday 18th November 2009, I saw ‘The Revenge of Rumpelstiltskin’ at Redruth School. The performance was part of Miracle Theatre’s travelling shows that visit different venues around Cornwall in order to bring the theatre to communities who may not usually get the chance to see plays.

‘The Revenge of Rumpelstiltskin’ was, in fact, a multi-plotted play. The actors were actually playing amateur Victorian actors who were putting on a pantomime in an old drawing room and who made many unprofessional mistakes. The names of the inexperienced actors were:

• Mr Ffitch (who played the Queen and the Forest Fairy), played by Tom Adams, • Mr Carter (who played the Prince of the Golden Halls and Tootabell’s other suitors), brought to life by Ben Dyson,

• Mr Twain (who performed as Rumpelstiltskin and a mermaid), played by Jason Squibb,

• Miss Carter (who performed as Princess Tootabell and the King), played by Sally Crooks.

The pantomime began by recapping the ending of the well-known children’s favourite ‘Rumpelstiltskin’. It then goes on to detail the life of the baby that was promised to Rumpelstiltskin. Her name was Tootabell and the beginning of the performance established her bratty, self-absorbed character immediately. The plot of the performance continues to portray her search for the perfect prince to marry as well as her struggle to escape the clutches of the ‘evil’ Rumpelstiltskin.

It was performed in Redruth School as there is a fairly large venue with plenty of performance space. Though the actors only used around half of the space. The set was rather compact, which is convenient for the actors, who travel all around the county, and made the audience feel closer to the performance.

The set for the performance was split into an inner and outer section. This was because the performance was a play within a play, much like the set. The outer set was completely covered in dark wooden panels with two stage exits on the right-hand side. The only light around this section was a small wall-lamp, lighted by a candle. It was intentionally darkened in order to prevent the attention being taken away from the main plot featured in the inner set. The outer set was designed to set the time frame of the performance, which was in the Victorian era, and was lined with props and parts of costumes strewn around on top of small tables. I think that this cluttered mise-en-scene reflected the very hectic nature of the performance and accentuated the relatively small performance area, whilst remaining in-keeping with the overall plotline.

The inner set, on the other hand, was more symbolic and not naturalistic. This showed the fact that, within the inner set, a pantomime was being performed. The inner set was made up of a scroll-screen with different settings painted on (the screens were rolled down whenever needed) and, on both sides, were wooden panels that were also painted to suit separate scenes. The panels formed a proscenium arch around the inner set, framing the performance and helping to focus the attention on the pantomime section of the performance.

Though the style of acting was exaggerated, the gestures used were relatively small, barring the Prince’s hopping entrances, which was useful in the small performance space that was used. On the other hand, this was made up for by the strong facial expressions that the actors used. This was particularly apparent in Tootabell’s character; her facial expressions were almost permanently sulky.

It was these gestures and expressions that aided the audience in forming their opinions on the characters. For example, at the start of the performance the audience took an immediate disliking to the character of Rumpelstiltskin. His slimy nature and awkward tongue movements were more repulsive, adding to the fact that he tried to kidnap a baby. However, by the conclusion of the performance, the audience begin to feel pity towards Rumpelstiltskin as he seems to become increasingly eager to please Tootabell.

Tootabell came as a bit of a shock to the audience as she was the complete antithesis of the usual fairytale princesses; she was self-obsessed, unpleasant and could not do anything for herself. In this case, it was rather difficult for the audience to feel much sympathy towards her as she entered into some dangerous and tricky situations. Yet, at the end of the performance, when Tootabell finally chose Rumpelstiltskin over the loyal Prince, the audience seemed to warm to her slightly as it was, again, another unexpected twist in the story.

The Queen showed a lot more of the comedic part throughout the performance, with an air of a pantomime Dame, which immediately allowed the audience to engage with the character. This was also the case with the Prince of the Golden Halls. His little personality quirks (like his hopping movements) made the audience pay attention to him. Also, the fact that he had a certificate for everything made the audience laugh and suggested a little helplessness and loneliness to the character.

Personally, I thought that the performance was well thought out, consistent in the style of it and very entertaining. I was amazed by the fact that only four actors carried out the whole performance.

I thoroughly enjoyed the performance and would gladly watch it again if I had the chance, especially with a new understanding of the plot. It was a fantastic piece of theatre, turning an old fairytale into a brand new pantomime with twists and turns all along the way. I would definitely rate the performance among some of the best that I have seen. By Chelsea Vincent – Year 10