From child-eating monsters to cruel parents — fairy tales aren’t exactly about happily-ever-afters and utopian worlds. The original Grimms’ Fairy Tales were dark, changed only later, by removing adult content, to be suitable for children. A latest production of Hansel and Gretel, h.g. at the Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan, created by Cristina Galbiati and Ilija Luginbühl, brought to light, rather ironically, every aspect of the dark side of the fairy tale.
We remember Hansel and Gretel for the delightful gingerbread house, but do not really recall how the children were abandoned twice by their father in the woods because of their stepmother’s complaints of having two extra mouths to feed. Hansel, overhearing his parents’ conversation, had to take the adult responsibility of devising a plan to get his sister and him back home safely. But fate has them fall into the trap of the witch who eats children, using her house of gingerbread and candy to lure them. Even though Hansel and Gretel escaped, it wasn’t a ‘happy’ ending considering the horrific memories they were left with.
Phrases such as ‘the characters jump out of the page’ to denote the reality of a story is used often enough. But it is one thing to read a story, and quite another to experience it. And that’s why h.g. is a performance installation, created to feel as if you are part of the narrative. It’s not the story alone that you witness. You are the story, another character within the pages of a book.
From the time you enter the nine physical-sensory rooms, till the time you leave, the experience of sights, three-dimensional sounds, and smells transport you to the hellish world of Hansel and Gretel. The smell of burnt meat, bones that look like children’s, the most charming gingerbread house, from where wafted the aroma of gingerbread, and the image of shrivelled human toes, were surreal and macabre in turns. Moving from Hansel and Gretel’s house to the chilly woods and finally into the house of death of the wicked witch, felt as though you are entering layers of your subconscious mind. Your imagination is ignited as you watch the narrative unfold in your mind’s eye. Memories rooted in childhood, thoughts and experiences that are pushed in the deep recesses of your mind surface every once a while. All of these make the experience inexplicably cathartic.
h.g. isn’t a conventional theatre production but it’s an impressive combination of elements of theatre, visual arts and technology. There are sets, lights and props, installations placed artfully to create effect and sounds so real, they send chills down your spine. But this is not an over-the-top, pretentious production. There is no attempt to preach to the spectator, and is an immersive theatre experience, in the truest sense of the term. h.g. stretches the limits of creativity—the production stood out for being accessible. One only wished the production was longer.
h.g., which now travels to Kolkata, was presented by Switzerland-based Trickster-p, Think Arts, Kolkata and Sandbox Collective in association with Pro-Helvetia/Swiss Arts Council.
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Her travel page
Excerpts from an interview with Cristina Galbiati about h.g.
How easy or difficult is it to travel with this production?
I’m not sure of whether it is easy or difficult. This is the way we conceived this production, so there are a lot of elements that need to travel with us. However, having done it so many times, we have found a way to make it easy for ourselves. So, there is a method to the production. We carry everything with us because we can’t take the chance of arriving in a country and not finding that exact bulb or any other prop.
What were the different reactions from different countries?
Surprisingly similar. I expected to have varying or contradictory reactions, but it appears that we are not so drastically different after all. I was surprised by how similar or almost similar the reactions are.
Is a three minute gap too much, too little or just right?
This is both a technical time as well as the dramaturgical tie. We estimated that it would take a little more than three minutes for people to fully experience each room. And it is precise but not militarily so... there is a fluidity to the movement between rooms.
Was the pebble in the shoe a souvenir for the audience to remember the production?
It can be anything that you want it to be or imagine it to be, because this production is about letting your imagination take you somewhere.
