Director Hannah Mulder first heard the dark, Scandinavian tale of The Girl with the Iron Claws “from an amazing storyteller on a yurt on Dartmoor in midwinter”.


Now The Wrong Crowd theatre company has captured all of that mystery and magic of a wild girl who falls in love with a bear-prince in its new production.

“What attracted me to the story,“ continues Hannah, “is its wildness – I love the fact that it’s one of the stories that carries the deep resonance that fairytales had before the Victorians sanitised them. I love the main character and her unwillingness to conform; she desires to go into the woods, into uncharted territory, and to pursue what she loves.“

The story, which most closely resembles Beauty and the Beast in British mythology, tells the tale of a princess who rebels against her safe, dull life in the palace, and ventures into the woods where she meets an enchanted bear, cursed by the Troll Queen to spend his days as a bear and his nights in his true, human form.

The story is told with simple props, puppets and actors.

“We want audiences to feel like they're entering another world,“ says Hannah.
For the first time, captioning charity Stage Text will be working on The Girl with the Iron Claws to make the show accessible to the deaf and hard of hearing. Stage Text’s captions not only tell audiences what's being said, but also include notes on sound effects, offering an inclusive theatrical experience and making new audiences feel welcome.

 

Harlow Playhouse, Playhouse Square, Harlow, Sunday, May 19 at 3pm. Details: 01279 431945, www.playhouseharlow.com