Review: The Griegol

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.