THE PIED PIPER
A decent performance, pitched squarely at younger audiences; though, with enough ham to appeal to all ages, it’s a one-woman show that tells one of the most fabled fairy tales -The Pied Piper. Writer and performer, Hanna Marouchka, displays a kind of innate joy, and this emanates from her throughout this performance; her hyper-real and heavily physical comedy is a pleasure to watch, and the children in the audience, most certainly, were swept up in the magic.
It works successfully, with various devices, small puppets and written word all which help to move the narrative along, while these also aid introducing characters and locations central to the plot. Musically, some numbers are stronger than others, Marouchka’s voice begins a little wavered but, as she warms up and continues, it becomes stronger, more resonant and clear.
If anything, for a performance which is first and foremost aimed at kids, the run time is perhaps a little too long, and is probably stretched far longer than their average attention span, shaving some of the length from this performance and honing in on the ‘best bits’ could result in an excellent 45 minute show, but as it stands- it’s not half bad.
Fringe is all about having a go as an artist, and as audience, it is some times about taking a risk on seeing something you might not otherwise do, and, as in this case, that risk certainly payed off – The Pied Piper comes highly recommended for children and adults alike.
