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Storytelling lives on: the Crick Crack Club's bold and vibrant take on fairytales pays homage to an enchanting tradition.Summary
Rating
Good
As part of their Fairytales for Grown-Ups series, the Crick Crack Club presents Strange Girls, Beautiful Monsters. Our storyteller for tonight is the effervescent Sarah Liisa Wilkinson, who presents a collection of fables full of otherworldly players and out of the ordinary escapades.
Despite the disruptive indecorum of a few audience members at the beginning, Wilkinson pushes forward with undeterred focus and spirit and retells four stories originating from Russia, Finland and Norway, and, of course, by the Brothers Grimm. The exciting draw of fairytales is their unpredictable twists and dark turns and tonight’s offering is no exception. The audience is introduced to an array of unconventional characters: a spoon-wielding sister who rides a goat, a sentient skull with burning eyes, an egg that holds the fate of three sisters and a troll who befriends a girl in search of her brush. Each tale is illustrated with symbolic imagery familiar to most allegoric folklore and though Wilkinson’s performance is interwoven with playful humour, she doesn’t shy away from the macabre and sombre. This arcane fascination with dark narratives is what captivates and attracts so many to these stories.
It’s interesting how familiar some of the narratives feel – although understandable, as most children’s stories are sanitised versions of ancient folklore (Disney for example). Yet this doesn’t detract from the originality of each piece. And with them being centred on the experiences of women, it’s refreshing to see the protagonists immersed in unorthodox sagas; avoiding the tropes that female leads can often fall into. Some of the stories are more enjoyable than others (which may simply be subjective preference) and although Wilkinson maintains a buoyant energy throughout, by the fourth tale the show does begin to feel prolonged.
Wilkinson has extensive experience, having trained with the renowned storyteller Nell Phoenix and “fairy-teller extraordinaire” Ben Haggarty, both of whom perform with the Crick Crack Club. Her confidence and infectious liveliness emanate into the room, enabling audience participation to feel less awkward and definitely more fun. She has an evident ability to influence the emotional tide of a performance. The words flow purposefully; their tempo and tonality deliberately placed, indicating a keen understanding of the framework of comic timing. This is a sign of someone incredibly respectful of their craft. Standing alone on that small, intimate stage sprinkled with fairy lights and foliage, with no music or props to accompany her, Wilkinson manages to conjure a world tangible to the senses and encourages the audience to be very much a part of the action.
It’s clear that that the art of storytelling and the fables themselves resonate profoundly with Wilkinson; and with this art being such an intrinsic part of how we communicate, bond and share traditions, it’s a pleasure to see it honoured with the enthusiasm and reverence it deserves.
Strange Girls, Beautiful Monsters was part of the Fairytales for Grown-Ups series, created by the Crick Crack Club and performed by Storyteller Sarah Liisa Wilkinson at Folklore in Hoxton.
