THE story of Rapunzel, the girl imprisoned in a high tower by a possessive witch, dates back into the mists of time, but it has lost neither its appeal nor its impact, as the new version by Sharon Clark for the Tobacco Factory Christmas show proves. The five-strong cast of actor-musicians excitingly demonstrate that there is no substitute for powerful storytelling, and they create a performance that delights children, parents, grandparents and all lovers of theatre.
The Bristol-based writer has incorporated one of the favourite tropes of family tales, that of three sisters, and in this version Rapunzel is the orphaned daughter of one of the sisters. Sister Donatella becomes Queen, albeit an impoverished monarch. The third, Serafina, is a keen gardener, living in terror of the world and all its people. It is she who builds the tower and keeps her niece at the top, learning the lessons of the stars in the sky.
Rapunzel, as we know, has VERY long hair, and it’s so strong that Serafina can climb up it. As we meet Rapunzel, she is on that awkward cusp between child and woman, and all sorts of inexplicable feelings are stirring in her body. Donatella, knowing her niece is still out there somewhere, offers a reward to anyone who can find her and bring her back into the bosom of the family.
A nerdy young boy, suffering under the scorn of his three strapping brothers, determines to track the lost princess, and hey-presto, he finds his way into the tower and up to the top.
This wonderful new reading of the story takes the audience deep into the realm of psychology, as our heroine discovers the 
hidden motivations of the people around her – often more dangerous than the wild beasts of which she has been continually warned!
The Tobacco Factory acting space, surrounded by the audience, is the ideal arena for the tale to unfold, with each of the versatile and very energetic actors picking up an instrument and breaking into song and dance.
Recent graduate Anna Marks Pryce is an engaging, sometimes heartbreaking Rapunzel, the strong girl who finds herself. Mischa Jardine is the brusque aunt Serafina, Zweyla Mitchell dos Santos the duplicitous Donatella, Adam Mirsky the scared but boastfully intense Benito and Phil King channelling his (yes, real life) hairdresser, Teazy Weazy.
In these days of compulsory super-powers, tiger mothers and over-protective, envious families, it’s good to remember that those “behaviours” long predate the Brothers Grimm, Charlotte-Rose de Caumont de la Force and the supposed originator of Rapunzel, Giambattista Basile.
Rapunzel will be escaping from her Bedminster tower on various dates and times until 17th January. You won’t see a more compelling, and richly enjoyable, version of a fairy story told this season, so make a beeline for the Tobacco Factory, and take your families and friends – this is a Christmas show for all ages, and certainly not a pantomime as you know it.
GP-W