We need more shows like this.
The kind that effort­lessly trans­ports you to the same child­like sense of won­der, akin to the first time you are read what will become your favour­ite story.

And it is no coin­cid­ence that The Griegol, writ­ten by Han­nah Smith and Ral­ph McCub­bin How­ell, revolves around the power of storytelling. In par­tic­u­lar, storytelling that ignites ima­gin­a­tion and can build a con­nec­tion between a grand­moth­er and child. The Griegol also depicts the pro­cessing of grief not just for chil­dren but for all people when a per­son spe­cial to them is no longer present.

This is my first time attend­ing a ‘Trick of the Light’ show. The nar­rat­ive devices used out­side of dia­logue to present the piece are incred­ible. In addi­tion, every detail has been care­fully con­sidered, from an item of ward­robe to the tim­ing of the sounds and com­pos­i­tion of music played live by Tristan Carter.

The Griegol is about cre­at­ing mood as much as it is, delight­ing our senses and ask­ing us to join them in a world where shad­ow, pup­petry, music and illus­tra­tion become alive.

The dir­ect­ing by Han­nah Smith and the act­ing were so good there was no need for dia­logue or the usu­al devices of tra­di­tion­al theatre. This is why I felt that the clos­ing song, while beau­ti­fully per­formed, was not neces­sary and some­what moved me out of the immers­ive exper­i­ence that is so beau­ti­fully cur­ated.

The Greigol is the kind of play that will cap­ture any audi­ence, from exper­i­enced theatre-goers to first-timers. Every­one should see The Griegol. With the short run clos­ing on Sat­urday, 19th of Novem­ber, I sug­gest you book your tick­ets now.