A lot of ‘seasonal entertainment’ to pack into the last four days of 2010 and first up comes the usually reliable and often wonderful Cornish company Kneehigh, though I wasn’t saying that at the interval after a very slow chunk of story-telling lacking in their trademark inventiveness!
Things looked up in the second half, with a lot more creativity and much more pace. Carl Grose lived up to his name as a positively gross witch and Edith Tankus came into her own as The Bird, both now bringing a balance to the occasionally overly twee charm of Chris Price’s Hansel and Joanna Holden’s Gretel. In this second half, the set comes alive and the music truly complimentary – in short, the Kneehigh we expect.
Hansel & Gretel is a slight tale to spin out to over hours, and an intimate piece of storytelling to fill the QEH. When it’s good, its great, but Mike Shepherd’s production desperately needs some editing and needs to pull a few punches earlier on before the audience contemplates giving up and leaving at the interval.
It’s advised for 7+. What is it about parents that makes them think they know better? The number of bored and scared under 7’s was extraordinary – no doubt their parents queued up to complain at the end…..
Gareth's Culture and Travel Blog 
Yes, the first act was just too long. I’m surprised that people still thought it appropriate to bring young children to this – I got an email from the company telling me it had played poorly to the younger set and offering refunds. I’d never received the like before and thought the company was taking this pretty seriously. I suppose some people forget that a story about being abandoned by your parents and then eaten can actually hold terrors for the young – they were squalling and weeping at the performance I attended, and it wasn’t just because they were too young to have been sitting that long.