Something with a little difference

(Morning Star, Thursday 22 December 2005)

PANTO: The Marsh King's Daughter, The Byre Theatre, St Andrews

A HANS Christian Andersen story has all the magic that one could want from a festive performance and the Byre's nice line in magical Christmas theatre is well documented.

With two comical storks as narrators, there is silliness there from the start for the youngsters in the audience, but the darkness and depth of the tale is always close to the surface.

Billed as a legend, The Marsh King's Daughter is set in the wild moors of Scandinavia and the far-off shores of ancient Egypt.

An Egyptian princess is tricked by her jealous sisters and left for dead in the marshes.

She is taken in by the mythical Marsh King, to whom she bears a child, but the king allows the child to be given to a human family in return for the princess's continued residence with him.

Baby Helga is rescued by one of the kindly storks and taken to live with the Vikings, but she has a secret which leaves her turning into a toad every evening at sundown.

Raised as a young warrior by her Viking foster father, Helga's mother tries in vain to connect with her often quite brutal daughter. Only when Helga appears after dark in her other form does her mother see her as a loving and caring creature.

This Byre production, written by Stephen Wrentmore and Rita Henderson, is a sweet and touching tale and well acted by the cast, including newcomer Alex Tegear as the menacing Helga with many life changes to go through.

Geoff Hennessy and Justine Balmer bring their paper storks to life and invent a real relationship with the viewer, chatting about married couple concerns as naturally as any soap actor.

The music features some excellent Disney-style bombast, with Sion Lloyd giving a roaring performance as both Bodil the Viking and the Pharoah.

The only weak point seems to be Kristian, played by Simon Masterton. An actor with range and skill he may be, but, here, he comes across as uncomfortable and wooden, a situation only exacerbated when he and Helga take the stage alone, as his nerves seem to rub off on her.

A wonderful show as always from the Byre, it would be hard to say that any weaknesses mar the show, so infused with magic and sweet sentiment it is. A lesser-known story, but all the more special for it.