Rapunzel – Theatre Peckham, London

Rapunzel at Theatre Peckham is an entertaining and enjoyable holiday show for the whole family.

Rapunzel

What a great week for Christmas shows in South London, and more specifically Black-led Christmas shows in South London.  Over the weekend I saw Cinderella at Brixton House: a modern adaptation with family and community at its heart. Today it was the turn of Theatre Peckham with Rapunzel.

This adaptation by Geoff Aymer (whose acting talents we saw in Jitney and Clutch) is not quite a classic fairy tale.  This Rapunzel (Kellah-M) was taken as a baby by her mum’s cousin Carrie (Jade Leanne Benjamin), initially held to ransom over a family inheritance – a very special book – but then kept so the deliciously evil Carrie can exploit her seemingly magical powers.  We know there’s a happy ending, as Rapunzel herself is telling us the story some years later from Barnet Magic, the hair salon she runs with her mum Maddy (Scarlet Gabriel).  But that doesn’t mean there aren’t ups, downs, laughs and thrills along the way. The (adult) cast is completed by Montel Douglas as rescuer and love interest Dignity Jones, and Marcus Ayton in a couple of roles including magical grandmother Mama Bea and both Dignity and Rapunzel’s fathers (could be confusing but isn’t).

The cast is complete, that is, if you don’t count the hairstyles as almost characters in their own right. Or the young performers, who I will get onto in a moment. The wigs worn in this production, as well as the styles created in a series of workshops with the Theatre Peckham community and seen in photographs around the foyer, are all by Shamara Roper. In fact hair is at the centre of this magical Christmas tale. The importance of hair to identity, well-being and empowerment is subtly (or less subtly) reinforced through words, actions and songs.  In a world where Black hair is politicised, mistreated and misunderstood, this is a nice modernisation of the Rapunzel motif and a positive message for young Black people in both the cast and audience.

A Community Endeavour

And there are plenty of youngsters amongst the cast.  Perhaps you remember from when I saw The Wonderful a couple of years that Theatre Peckham incorporate their young people’s theatre programme into their Christmas shows.  The performers’ obvious joy in being on stage, plus some real talent amongst the cast, makes up for the odd line lost to overenthusiasm, missed choreography, or other mishaps. Two young casts alternate: on press night we saw the Braids rather than the Twists. A few of the young performers have sizeable roles in this year’s production. Flo Swann shows off a lovely voice in her role as hair stylist Lucy, Kaiya Ashitey holds her own against the adults as a younger Rapunzel, and Isabella Grant as kidnapping co-conspirator Mirribell really is excellent all round. What a great way to show off the programme participants’ hard work and the pipeline of talent it creates.

Aymer as a writer has a great turn of phrase. The adaptation works well, with jokes flowing throughout to match the physical comedy. Jordan Xavier has composed simple songs with catchy hooks: I’ve spent the morning singing to myself about Dignity Jones. If only I had my own little hype crew to musically narrate my adventures. Overall it’s really enjoyable, once you relax and embrace the fact that not everyone here is a professional.  The press night audience got into the fun of goodies, baddies, and panto dame-like Aunties.  There are opportunities to get involved, laugh along and learn some choreo (by Jazz Deer-Olafa).  Like Cinderella, Rapunzel is a production that is relevant to local audiences: made by, with, and for them.  It’s nice to see Theatre Peckham’s strong local engagement fostering such great community spirit.

So with such great options on offer, get booking.  Rapunzel has a real warmth of spirit that’s perfect for these winter nights.  Plus those catchy numbers that will be in my head for a while to come.

Salterton Arts Review’s rating: 3.5/5

Rapunzel on until 24 December 2023. More info and tickets here.