BAYSWATER theatre-maker Katherine Shaw says her current show is inspired by the tragic tale The Little Match Girl – one that has stayed with her since childhood.
Shaw, one-seventh of physical theatre troupe The Open Lid Ensemble, said the group put its own spin on Hans Christian Andersen’s 1845 tale of a young girl who escapes a harsh world into a “vivid, beautiful” world of her mind.
After a successful run at the Fremantle Festival, the ensemble will take the show to Fringe World Festival’s The Flaming Locomotive: Injector Room at the State Theatre Centre of WA.
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READ NOW“It’s a story I remember from my childhood and it’s always stayed with me,” Shaw said.
“I just thought given our style of theatre with the emphasis on the physical and the magical, her exploration of her imaginary world would work very well with our style of theatre.
“While the story is old the themes are eternal and universal – our take on it is not so much a class divide and rich versus poor, it’s more the universal need for connection and the struggle to find that.”
Shaw said the show moved the audience to tears and laughter during their Fremantle stint.
“Now our job is to translate the show to the new venue, that’s what we’re working on now,” she said.
RISSCHT! The Little Match Girl by Open Lid Ensemble is The Open Lid Ensemble’s second work.
Their performance Halina premiered at last year’s Fringe World Festival.
THE ESSENTIALS WHAT: RISSCHT! The Little Match Girl by Open Lid Ensemble, The Open Lid Ensemble WHERE: The Flaming Locomotive: Injector Room, State Theatre Centre of WA WHEN: January 20-21, 24-25, 27-28 6.45pm TICKETS: www.fringeworld.com.au