Chesil Theatre 
Chesil Theatre, Winchester
Jon Cockeram 
23 May 2026
Cinderella, Rapunzel, Snow White, Rumplestiltskin; these fairy tales and many more were compiled by the Brothers Grimm in order to preserve the tales that were told in Germany, and later became popularised and, in many cases, sanitised as well. Chesil Theatre have prepared for your delight and wonderment an adaptation of Phillip Pullman’s (yes, that Phillip Pullman, who wrote the His Dark Materials books) version of the Grimm Tales, bringing you four of the much less widely known stories.
It is sometimes said that theatre is magic and magic is theatre, and after tonight I genuinely feel that that is what I witnessed. Chesil Theatre is a small theatre and was tonight set up for theatre in the round, something which I very rarely get to see. The theatre itself was transformed with greenery and bones covering the walls and the floor painted with stars, the sun, the phases of the moon and various other symbols. Once the door is closed and the outside world is shut away, it genuinely feels like you’ve been transported to another realm.
Each story starts with a short piece of interpretive dance, designed to show the transition between the seasons and the crowning of a new spirit monarch upon the throne, who then oversees the story that plays out in front of them. These dances are laden with symbolism and are done very well, and there’s also flashes of other, more widely known, Grimm tales in these dance sequences; trying to identify them was a lot of fun.
The play has four people playing villagers and the rest of the 13-strong cast playing spirits; whilst the villagers do take the lead in each of the stories it would be incredibly unfair to describe the spirits simply as chorus members. Rather, dressed in black and with leaves and branches painted on their faces and arms, the spirits act sometimes as the other characters in the story, sometimes as the scenery, and sometimes as the mystic forces that pervade these stories. They do also, at various points, use puppets; there’s a surprisingly wide variety of these, and they are all manipulated with skill. It’s impossible to highlight any one cast member as the standout – everyone, whether villager or spirit, did an incredible job and should be heartily congratulated for the obvious time and effort that they’ve put into this production.
Whilst costuming is simple for the most part, there’s a great deal of small details and changes used to differentiate between the characters shown, as well as changes in accents too. As such, it felt like each story had variety and nuance. The set is also surprisingly versatile whilst being sparse; upon entry to the theatre there is only the throne in the centre, then a small number of boxes and crates which are brought on and used repeatedly in sometimes surprising ways, forming a tomb, a ship, a table and chair and various other things at different times. The cast bring things on and off and move them around in a swift and very well-choreographed sequence every single time, with a couple of set pieces being brought on and off for specific purposes.
Are there any issues with the production? Well, there are a couple, but they’re relatively minor. Theatre in the round means that the action isn’t always facing you, and there can also be times when the action is blocked by other people on stage or bits of set; however, the stories move at a pace whereby these moments are temporary at best, and the cast make sure to favour all sides of the room equally. The only other gripe would be that for me the tone of the third story felt a little off compared to the others; the king is played slightly over the top and with a hefty dose of posturing, to the point that given the other Grimm Tales I genuinely was surprised when he got the princess and lived happily ever after. He also had a trio of retainers who were played with a surprising amount of brashness and swagger, giving them and their interaction with him a modern twist which took away slightly from the fairy tale aspect. Whilst the story was by no means unenjoyable and the cast did a good job, it just felt like a bit of a tonal shift in the directing. For the most part though, director Daisy Norwood and her team have done a fantastic job, and this show is well worth your time.
Theatre is magic, and magic is theatre. Go see this play, on every day until Saturday 30th May, and let the Chesil Theatre cast its spell on you.
