Regent’s Park Theatre is the chosen location for this new montage which will be entirely performed in English, based on the German opera by Engelbert Humperdinck y Adelheid Wette. The cast will include 7 leading actors apart from an ensemble of 30 people, who will be accompanied by a nearly 20-piece-orchestra.
Walt Disney used to say that his park’s attractions represented a new way of creating shows, where viewers would leave the stalls in order to live the plot in first person. Maybe on this occasion there are no huge showbuildings or complex animatronics, but Regent’s Park clearly approaches the idea of immersive theatre – becoming the mysterious forest where brave Hansel and Gretel will live their widely known adventure. Only this time, they will add a new and inseparable travelling partner: music.
English National Opera co-produces this new montage based on one of every generation’s most beloved children’s tales – in collaboration with Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, where the piece will be performed. With a stage design by Oliver Award-winner Peter McKintosh and direction by Timothy Sheader, this version will count on 7 leading actors and an ensemble of 30 people, apart from a 19-piece live orchestra, under the baton of Ben Glassberg.
On the other hand, the cast will include two couples to make the characters come to life: Rachel Kerry and Heather Lowe in the role of Hansel (both on their National English Opera debut) and Susanna Harril and Elisabetzh Karanim sharing the role of Gretel. Further additions are Duncan Rock and Ben McAteer, alternating the part of the Father, and Rosie Aldridge and Gweneth Ann Rand, playing the Mother. Also, Alasdair Elliott and John Findon will perform as the Witch, while Gillian Keith will be the Sandman and He Wu, the Dew Fairy. Though this production is a version of the German opera composed by Engelbert Humperdinck and libretto by Adelheid Wette, this version will be sung completely in English, adapted for this occasion by David Pountney.
Hansel and Gretel will run from June 14th to 22nd. Tickets, available from £25, can be purchased on the following link.
First Night Magazine 