REVIEW | The House With Chicken Legs, Les Enfants Terribles
Photo Andrew AB Photography★ ★ ★ ★
Reviewer - Joseph
*Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in return for an honest review
'I love the idea that one day, completely out of the blue, someone or something could come hurtling down from the sky and change my life, for ever.'
The House with Chicken Legs is based on the book of the same name by Sophie Anderson and tells the story of Marinka, a girl who lives in a house, and yes, you guessed it, that has chicken legs. She lives with her grandma Baba, a Yaga, who helps the dead pass on. It is folksy and full of music, joy and hope.
The lead, played expertly by Eve de Leon Allen, manages to draw us in so quickly that we would follow her to the ends of the earth, and beyond. Her Baba, Lisa Howard provides a lot of the comedic relief, with her eccentricities, but is able to produce immense gravitas when needed.
The rest of the company works so seamlessly together, occupying various roles, that it could seem like it's a cast of 20. I was particularly enamoured by Jack, a Jackdaw puppetered by Matthew Burns. The puppetry throughout was done in a straightforward way which is exactly what you need, it lets us as audience members fill any gaps and helps cultivate that childlike joy within, no matter your age.
The staging is sensational, transporting you to this wonderful world. There are many different set pieces, sending us to far corners of the globe effortlessly and believably, however, due to the amount of set that needs to be moved these changes can be long but music does help alleviate any longer gaps.
The music, which is partly on stage with live instruments is very appropriate for the style, whilst also still having a modern twist. The vocal ability on stage was also very high but didn't detract from the story. The production keeps as close to the source material as possible, so if you're a fan of the book, then you will be a fan of this.
A few minor technical hiccups that most audiences wouldn't notice and a choice for animation for a sequence are the only real qualms I had, also it's very long. For a piece that is clearly aimed towards the younger end, a 75 and 65 minute act is a long haul, however it never really felt like that, which is great.
All in all, this is child friendly theatre at its best. Utterly bonkers, but utterly magical too.
On a UK tour until 30 Dec 2023.
