The House With Chicken Legs, Les Enfants Terribles

 

"My house has chicken legs. Two or three times a year, without warning, it stands up in the middle of the night, and walks away from where we've been living. It might walk a hundred miles or it might walk a thousand, but where it lands is always the same. A lonely, bleak place at the edge of..."

The House with Chicken Legs (Les Enfants Terribles) 

There are some wonderful books that stay with you forever. I read The House with Chicken Legs by Sophie Anderson several years ago. It might be a YA fiction, yet it is so deep and multi-layered that readers of all ages will find wisdom and solace in reading it. I was delighted to find out that this  beautiful story has been recreated as a stage production by Les Enfants Terribles.

This fabulous show tells the story of Marinka (Eve de Leon Allen), a 12-year-old girl who lives with her grandma, Baba Yaga (Lisa Howard), in a house with chicken legs. 

Unlike the Baba Yaga of many a folk tale, Marinka's grandma is a compassionate, kind and eccentric woman. She is the guardian of the portal that sends off the souls of the dead in the other dimension. She helps the dead celebrate their lives before they pass on to the stars. Lisa Howard is a spirited Baba Yaga, big-hearted and quirky. She is a true free spirit.

Baba likes her drink and loud music, she is also very protective of Marinka, who is not allowed to meet up with the living. 

Even before the show starts, while the spectators are being seated, you can hear the lyrical music. That alone set me off. I think my eyes were welling up soon after the souls started arriving to the house and sharing their stories.

At first, Marinka doesn't understand the language of the dead, and needs her Baba to interpret their stories. It's not that she has no talent for languages, it's a self-imposed psychological barrier. Marinka doesn't want to follow in Baba's footsteps, she wants to be a normal teenager, living among the people, and doing all the things that people do. 

She feels particularly sad about the absence of friends. Marinka's only friend is her jackdaw Jack (played brilliantly by Dan Willis).

Eve de Leon Allen makes an impressive lead. Her character is vulnerable and stubborn at the same time, and very likeable. Allen's voice conveys the emotions of a lonely child on the brink of the adolescence. She skilfully portrays a young pre-teen who can be endearing and exasperating at the same time. 

Her desire to make friends either with the living, or the dead is so intense it's almost tangible. 

There are several supporting characters that add more dimensions to the story. The local boy Ben (Michael Barker) accidentally stumbles upon the location of the House. Ben is another loner, who is bullied at school. He lost his Mum, and talks movingly about living with his Dad. There's innocent Nina (Elouise Warboys), who is sad that she hasn't been able to see the world during her short life.

The duet of Marinka and Nina about their life choices, or the lack of them, is poignant and very emotional. 

Marinka longs of staying in one place long enough, so that she could finally acquire friends, but the House has a mind of its own, and would move whenever it makes a decision. 

The production itself is a riot of colour  with clever puppetry and big screen projections, touching and hilarious dialogues, flamboyant music and intricate costumes.

The music is a mix of modern and folk, Slavic and Romani tunes, a blend of nostalgic and upbeat.

Costumes by Samuel Wyer deserve a special mention. They are bold, colourful, folk-inspired and cleverly re-interpreted in a modern, creative way. Some of the motives made me think of The Rite of Spring. When I later looked up the artist's mood boards and spotted Roerich's costume designs for Snegurochka, you can see the influence of the prehistoric Slav and ancient Rus' motives.

We loved the House, with its expanding platforms and playful interior. The House itself is not an inanimate entity, it is a living, breathing creature, which takes care of Marinka, and is full of love and compassion. 

The House with Chicken Legs is an evocative, beautiful story that will stay with you for a long time. Escape to the faraway lands through the magic of theatre and marvellous storytelling.

The show is very sad at times, yet also uplifting and full of joy. Be prepared to laugh and cry.

If there's only one play you plan to see this year, The House is the best choice.

Les Enfants Terribles continue their spectacular Autumn tour. Check out their itinerary below.

The London run comes hot on the heels of an Autumn tour, with forthcoming dates including Theatre Royal Plymouth (4-7 October), Harlequin Theatre, Redhill (11-14 October), Aberystwyth Arts Centre (18-20 October), Bacon Theatre, Cheltenham (26-28 October), New Theatre Royal Portsmouth (2-3 November), Crescent Theatre, Birmingham (7-10 November) and The Queen’s Theatre, Barnstaple (14-18 November).

 The production had its world premiere at HOME Manchester in 2022, where it won an Offie Commendation (OffComm) recognising excellence in theatre outside of London.

 

The House with Chicken Legs is Written by Sophie Anderson and Adapted by Oliver Lansley and Directed by Oliver Lansley & James Seager with Music & Sound Design by Alexander Wolfe, Songs Co-written by Alexander Wolfe & Oliver Lansley, Costume & Puppetry Design by Samuel Wyer, Set Design by Jasmine Swan, Video Design by Nina Dunn, Lighting Design by Jane Lalljee and Original Illustrations by Melissa Castrillón and Elisa Paganelli © Usborne Publishing Ltd, 2018. 

 To book tickets, visit the Southbank Centre website:  https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/performance-dance/house-chicken-legs

LONDON LISTINGS-

Show: The House with Chicken Legs

Company: Les Enfants Terribles

Dates: 13 –⁠ 30 Dec, 1pm, 2.30pm & 7pm (check show schedule for individual days)

Running time: 2 hrs 30 mins (inc. interval)

Online booking: https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whats-on/performance-dance/house-chicken-legs

Tickets: £20-40 (excl. £3.50 booking fee)

Age recommendation: 9+

Content warnings: The show contains minimal haze and smoke effects and some flashing lights. The story contains themes of loss.

Relaxed Performance: Sat 16 Dec, 2.30pm & Wed 27 Dec, 7pm.

Pre-show Touch Tour and Audio Description available: Thu 21 Dec, 2.30pm. British Sign Language interpreted (BSL): Thu 28 Dec, 7pm.

 

CREATIVE TEAM

• Written by: Sophie Anderson
• Adapted by: Oliver Lansley
• Directed by: Oliver Lansley & James Seager
• Music & Sound Design by: Alexander Wolfe
• Songs Co-written by: Alexander Wolfe & Oliver Lansley
• Costume & Puppetry Design by: Samuel Wyer
• Set Design by: Jasmine Swan
• Video Design by: Nina Dunn
• Lighting Design by: Jane Lalljee

SOPHIE ANDERSON 

Author

Sophie Anderson was born in Swansea, and now lives in the Lake District with her family. Her writing is most often inspired by folk and fairy stories, especially the Slavic tales her Prussian grandmother told her when she was young.

Across her bestselling novels, Sophie has won the Independent Bookshop Book of the Year Award and the Wales Book of the Year Award, and has been shortlisted for the CILIP Carnegie Medal twice, the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize, the Blue Peter Book Award, the British Book Awards’ Children’s Fiction Book of the Year, the Andersen Prize, and the Branford Boase Award.

Sophie’s books have been translated into over twenty-five languages and her much anticipated next novel, The Snow Girl, publishes on 23 October 2023.

My younger son and I were lucky to meet Sophie in person in Oxford, days before Covid, I follow her on social media, and she is the nicest person ever. 

The Snow Girl is out in a couple of weeks, and will make a wonderful Christmas gift for any young (and young at heart too) reader who enjoys magic stories.

Beauty and the Beast, Playhouse (Oxford)

"Mummy, is that a real dog?" (Eddie, 4)

Beauty (Sammy Andrews) and Princegeorge (Michael Pickering)

When Eddie's school  announced they were planning a trip to see Beauty and the Beast at Playhouse in Oxford, I offered my help as a volunteer. As my son has never been to a theatre before, I have told him what to expect, and he was looking forward to his first visit to the theatre. On Friday, when I got a call from his teacher that my help was not needed after all, I had to rethink our plans. I know my boy is shy, and I wanted to make his first time at the theatre as smooth as possible. If I couldn't accompany his class as a volunteer, why don't I just buy tickets online. Thankfully, there were a few tickets still available.
We got on the bus to Oxford, and every time we passed a big building, Eddie kept asking if that was the theatre. The traffic was horrendous, and we spent an anxious hour on the bus, wondering if we were going to make it in time.
We arrived just ten minutes before the start of the performance. It was the performance chosen by several schools, and the foyer was crowded.
My little man immediately got all emotional and started to cry. It was a bit overwhelming, I agree, so many people, talking loudly.
Holding my hand tightly, he hesitantly followed me inside. We found our seats, Eddie looked around in wonder, and felt better.
As soon as the first sound and visual effects appeared, he was mesmerised. "Amazing", he whispered to me.

I thought the panto would be based on Disney's Beauty and the beast, but no, the script and music were completely different.

Beauty (Sammy Andrews)

The plot is based on a classic fairy tale, well known in many languages and cultures. In fact, there is a Russian fairy story called "Alen'kii tsvetochek" or "The scarlet flower", but I am digressing from our Oxford panto.
Eddie followed the story with great interest, even if at times he was a tad confused about the dream scenes and flashback moments.

There was a lot of acrobatics, with the very agile and cute Tumbletoes (Beauty's dog) who was the heroine of the show, according to my son.

Tumbletoes (Kate McWilliam) is soaring above the circus

While Eddie's heart was won over by talented Tumbletoes, I thought it was the Dame who totally stole the show. Dame Jolena Jollychops as played by Leon Craig kept changing outfits, one more outrageous than another.

Jolena and Beauty's father

There were a lot of smutty jokes, intended for the adult audience only. One can hate them, or one can argue that this tradition of coarse jokes and sexual innuendos goes back in history to the times of Ancient Greece and its classic comedies, well known for their colourful language, crude jokes and phallic symbols. In less distant times, it would have been Rabelaisian bawdy and risque puns and exaggerations.
In a way, it wouldn't be a British panto without spicy adult jokes.
Going back to our resplendent Dame, she excelled in keeping the audience in stitches. This was a cross-dressing magic taken to a level of divine.

All the costumes were colourful, and the scenery was impressive. Eddie loved the falling snow flakes in the storm scene, and the floating lights. He was quite scared of the big witch's eye, and spent half of the show on my lap, just in case.
He was so enthusiastic, shouting with the audience "Behind you" and pointing to where Beauty has gone. It was so touching when he asked me if the dog was a real one, and later if the Beast was real too, bless him. To be 4 years old and so trusting.

Behind you! 

The panto was directed by Peter Duncan.
There was a bit of Bollywood, and a bit of Hollywood. There was a circus, and a lot of singing.
Beauty and the Beast sang beautifully together.

There were a few uneven bits in the show, when the children from the audience were invited onstage and were telling about where they came from. That I found rather tedious.
Someone asked us after the show if we caught any sweets, but no, there wasn't any sweets-throwing.
It was a very enjoyable show, and Eddie now wants to go to the theatre again.

It was such an emotional event, that on the way home Eddie fell asleep on the bus. But since we came home, he has talked about our trip non-stop. What a way to introduce my little man to magic of a British panto!

All the images from the show are reproduced with the kind permission from Oxford Playhouse.