adapted and directed by emma rice
presented by kneehigh theatre
limited season | roda theatre
december 2, 2011–january 22, 2012
american premiere
Running time: 2 hours, including one 15 minute intermission
the play
After triumphing on Broadway and in the Bay Area with Brief Encounter, Kneehigh is back. Britain’s extraordinary theatrical troupe returns with another stunning show. Adapted and directed by Emma Rice, The Wild Bride is a grown-up fairy tale that follows a girl’s journey through a visual wonderland. What happens when your father accidentally sells you to the devil? What do you do when your prince goes off to war? Hearts break, hearts heal, and happily ever after still may be possible. Expect vivid storytelling, devilish humor and a heady mix of live and found music when Kneehigh unveils The Wild Bride.
the buzz
“The Devil is at the crossroads, a girl is in peril and love is gloriously indestructible in the exhilarating The Wild Bride…A feast of timeless story, irresistible music and wildly imaginative theatricality…Bride is a gift that keeps on giving. What starts in an enchanted, bluesy folktale world dips into creepy nightmare terrain and sails aloft on wings of grit, resolution and fantasy. It’s a fairy tale for adults…told in cleverly bumptious rhymed couplets, an enthralling blend of early American blues with Eastern European and Celtic folk motifs and the beautifully executed, never-ending vaudeville-jig-fling-mock ballet choreography of Etta Murfitt. And it’s a story brought to life almost as expressively by the fancifully used everyday objects of Bill Mitchell’s set, Myriddin Wannell’s deceptively simple costumes and Sarah Wright’s props and puppets as by its six multitalented performers.”—San Francisco Chronicle
“The Wild Bride will steal your heart from start to finish…One of the most enchanting holiday shows in recent memory, this whimsical tale of wonder and woe runs through Jan. 1 at Berkeley Rep. The Brothers Grimm enter distinctly Southern Gothic territory in this fiendishly clever fairy tale…an ingenious marriage of dance, theater, puppetry and music…The music gives voice to untold longing. Not only does the score, an intoxicating wedding of gospel and blues, evoke the mood, it also propels the story…Once upon a time has rarely been so intoxicating.”—San Jose Mercury News / Bay Area News Group
“Devilishly entertaining…Rice and company—who made Brief Encounter a Broadway hit—perform the work in song, rhymed speech, dance and stylized gestures. Six actors, singing and playing multiple instruments—guitars, fiddles, accordion and banjo—play all the roles. Bill Mitchell’s set, a fantastic assemblage of ladders and leafless trees, yields wonders…Anyone who believes in magic should see it!”—SF Examiner
“Such joy. Such wicked, delicious, heart-pounding joy. That’s what it feels like at the end of The Wild Bride, the dark fairy tale come to life on Berkeley Repertory Theatre’s Roda stage. This is, without question, the great treat of the holiday theater season…Wild Bride feels organically wild, bold and brave and full of the kind of sights, sounds and stories that make theater the most thrilling art form on the planet.”—Chad Jones’ Theatre Dogs
“The Wild Bride truly merited the standing ovation it received opening night as veteran actor Peter Coyote led the rest of the audience with shouts of ‘Bravo!’ It is neither Grimm nor grim but devilishly delightful.”—Marinscope
multimedia
Meet Kneehigh Theatre
A sneak peek at Kneehigh’s The Wild Bride—direct from England and making its American premiere at Berkeley Rep. For more about Kneehigh, visit their website.
from the blog
Get your fashion on
How to dress like a character in The Wild Bride.
