REVIEW
✭✭☆☆☆ 2/5
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
Palace Theatre, Westcliff on Sea
29th November - 4th December 2021
✭✭☆☆☆ 2/5
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
Palace Theatre, Westcliff on Sea
29th November - 4th December 2021
If I'm honest, I'm not really sure what I was expecting from Tilted Wig's production of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Pitched as a 'brand new telling' of the Washington Irving short story, some may be familiar with the 1999 Johnny Depp film but it's not one that I ever got around to watching. Perhaps if I had seen the film I would have had more of a clue as to what was going on but sadly I was left mildly baffled as to which story this 2hrs 20mins (inc interval) long production was trying to convey.
I was aware of the American gothic tale of teacher, Ichabod Crane, who arrives in Sleepy Hollow, the town that harbours the legend of the headless horseman, and falls in love with town heiress, Katrina Von Tassel. However, this interpretation felt overly wordy, overly complicated and overly long. A huge hats off to every one of the performers who have clearly put in a massive amount of work to get this production on stage. Every single one of them provides an outstanding and admirably committed performance.
Bill Ward, I presume, is the main audience pull with his appearances in Coronation Street and Emmerdale together with a ton of tv credits to his name. He plays the role of Baltus van Tassel well and holds the stage with a confident assuredness. Rose Quentin as his daughter, Rose, also puts in a fabulous performance with great projection, as does Amy Allen as the widow, Mariette Papenfuss, although she seemed to be wearing modern day character shoes which kind of distracted me a little, as did the water pitcher with a barcode on the bottom but no matter. Sam Jackson as Ichabod and Tommy Sim'aan as De Groot likewise putting in some nicely played characterisations.
There is an age guidance of 12 years for this play and this is, I expect, because of the many sexual references throughout although most would go over a 12 year old's head and that's assuming they had a decent attention span to sit through this production. The beginning of Act 2 brings a rather erotic scene and a clever illusion which perks things up a little (excuse the pun); Lewis Cope as Brom Van Brunt providing some topless titivation. The cast play different characters at times in order to re-enact stories but I'm afraid I just couldn't really invest with the hefty amount of dialogue that is just so incomprehensibly complicated in delivery and understanding.
It is a shame, because the staging of this production together with some fantastic lighting and sound affects, really work well to give an eerily atmospheric feel to the play, and even before it begins. There is a wonderful sense of anticipation as to what's to come.
Throughout, there's dance, there's movement, there's song, there's puppetry, there's illusion, there's pretty much everything you can throw at a production to make it a clever and visually pleasing production but if the storyline gets lost in the writing then unfortunately it's just not going to work.
I was aware of the American gothic tale of teacher, Ichabod Crane, who arrives in Sleepy Hollow, the town that harbours the legend of the headless horseman, and falls in love with town heiress, Katrina Von Tassel. However, this interpretation felt overly wordy, overly complicated and overly long. A huge hats off to every one of the performers who have clearly put in a massive amount of work to get this production on stage. Every single one of them provides an outstanding and admirably committed performance.
Bill Ward, I presume, is the main audience pull with his appearances in Coronation Street and Emmerdale together with a ton of tv credits to his name. He plays the role of Baltus van Tassel well and holds the stage with a confident assuredness. Rose Quentin as his daughter, Rose, also puts in a fabulous performance with great projection, as does Amy Allen as the widow, Mariette Papenfuss, although she seemed to be wearing modern day character shoes which kind of distracted me a little, as did the water pitcher with a barcode on the bottom but no matter. Sam Jackson as Ichabod and Tommy Sim'aan as De Groot likewise putting in some nicely played characterisations.
There is an age guidance of 12 years for this play and this is, I expect, because of the many sexual references throughout although most would go over a 12 year old's head and that's assuming they had a decent attention span to sit through this production. The beginning of Act 2 brings a rather erotic scene and a clever illusion which perks things up a little (excuse the pun); Lewis Cope as Brom Van Brunt providing some topless titivation. The cast play different characters at times in order to re-enact stories but I'm afraid I just couldn't really invest with the hefty amount of dialogue that is just so incomprehensibly complicated in delivery and understanding.
It is a shame, because the staging of this production together with some fantastic lighting and sound affects, really work well to give an eerily atmospheric feel to the play, and even before it begins. There is a wonderful sense of anticipation as to what's to come.
Throughout, there's dance, there's movement, there's song, there's puppetry, there's illusion, there's pretty much everything you can throw at a production to make it a clever and visually pleasing production but if the storyline gets lost in the writing then unfortunately it's just not going to work.
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow continues at the Palace Theatre, Southend
from Monday 29 November to Saturday 4th December – show commences at 8pm
Washington Irving’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow - By Philip Meeks. Directed By Jake Smith.
“There was a contagion in the very air…”
Sleepy Hollow is an ancient place with a bloody history.
A town full of deadly secrets.
A town that will stop at nothing to keep itself safe.
When Ichabod Crane becomes the teacher in Sleepy Hollow, he arrives with a sense of wonderment. Catching the eye of wealthy heiress Katrina Von Tassel he decides she’s the woman he’s going to marry come what may. What he doesn’t realise is that he is about to unleash the very devil himself - the Headless Horseman, a creature doomed for eternity to seek a terrifying revenge.
Nothing explores the dark heart of American Gothic better than this classic tale of love, revenge and bone-chilling evil.
Brought to the stage in this exhilarating new telling. This full ensemble staging, packed with tricks and thrills, will guarantee you’re glad to be sat in a theatre again!
Age guidance: 12+
from Monday 29 November to Saturday 4th December – show commences at 8pm
Washington Irving’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow - By Philip Meeks. Directed By Jake Smith.
“There was a contagion in the very air…”
Sleepy Hollow is an ancient place with a bloody history.
A town full of deadly secrets.
A town that will stop at nothing to keep itself safe.
When Ichabod Crane becomes the teacher in Sleepy Hollow, he arrives with a sense of wonderment. Catching the eye of wealthy heiress Katrina Von Tassel he decides she’s the woman he’s going to marry come what may. What he doesn’t realise is that he is about to unleash the very devil himself - the Headless Horseman, a creature doomed for eternity to seek a terrifying revenge.
Nothing explores the dark heart of American Gothic better than this classic tale of love, revenge and bone-chilling evil.
Brought to the stage in this exhilarating new telling. This full ensemble staging, packed with tricks and thrills, will guarantee you’re glad to be sat in a theatre again!
Age guidance: 12+