REVIEW: Rumplestiltskin – Platform, Easterhouse

A tale for those who have never fitted in, for those who’ve never found their tribe, a tale of the consequences of the choices we make.

Lewis Heatherington could never be accused of lacking ambition, or of bravery in artistic vision. Always delivering stories with both bite and heart. This year it’s his imaginative take on the story of Rumplestiltskin.

Poor old Rumple doesn’t know what he is. Abandoned at birth and left in the care of ‘Aunty Janet’ the hedgehog, in her home for lost creatures, Rumple struggles to find his niche. Is he a Troll, a Goblin, a Bog Monster? No-one knows. Hugely intelligent and fact obsessed, the clever young creature is called upon to do the lion’s share of the chores. When he heads to high school things don’t get any better  he manages to make one friend Little Bunny Plop Plop but when her head is turned by the cool gang, she sees her chance to scramble up in the world and throws away their friendship to pursue Prince Duncan McWoof.

Rumple immerses himself in the library. Among the stacks of books he finds one that is literally magical. He throws off his old life and lives in the magical realm where his powers are supreme. His former bunny friend eventually becomes Princess, then Queen after a deal with Rumple (whom she cannot remember), a deal where she agrees to surrender the thing that is most precious to her in the world when Rumple calls the favour in.

At just an hour’s running time, this is a big story with big themes packed in: loneliness, rejection, consequences of choice, forgetting your roots.  There’s a lot of thought-provoking material here. It is beautifully told with the most gorgeously lit, simplistic but inventive set. It is incredibly satisfying for adults but it must be said that it may whizz right over the younger members of the audience’s heads. To satisfy the youngsters however, there are plenty of upbeat tunes and the best use ever of The Human League’s Don’t You Want Me as a hysterical duet between Duncan and Bunny. The tiny cast are excellent, aided by local theatre students to flesh out the action.

Hetherington and Platform have to be applauded once again for challenging, never patronising and always entertaining when it would be so easy to go down the easy route. An old- fashioned fairy tale re-told beautifully for the modern age.

Runs until 24 December 2024 | Images: Euan Robertson

Tickets – https://www.platform-online.co.uk/whats-on/event/1040/