Rapunzel And The Tower Of Doom

This one-man show features engaging storytelling with a fruit and veg theme. It’s ably told by Andy Lawrence and a cast of adorable puppets who take on the main roles in the classic fairytale about the princess with golden hair who is trapped in a tower by an evil witch, but is eventually rescued by a handsome prince. By the end of the show you’ll probably know more than you knew about Rapunzel the vegetable and certainly more than you ever wanted to know, but that’s no bad thing. There is something for everyone in the production: enough visual antics to appeal to younger viewers, enough contemporary references to appeal to older kids and lots that grown-ups will find appealing. The structure of the show was a bit carrot-like: top and middle heavy, and the middle a bit long, but the end tapered out well, with some unexpected twists and turns helping the story advance towards its end. Despite the show’s theme, the wordplay was never corny and appealed to a cross-section of ages in the audience. There was quite a bit of direct interchange with the audience, which was very effective and which they youngsters in the audience squealed with pleasure at.Lawrence’s puppetry skills are admirable and varied, and had his audience enthralled. However, despite defining the main characters easily by focusing on a certain sound or accent, there was some inconsistency in terms of the characters’ voices, with Mr Brusseltop coming over as a strange F1 hybrid of Russian, Scots and English, and the Prince ending up being transplanted from Spanish to Scottish linguistic soil and back again at alarming rates.For maximum effect, sit in the front rows or along the side edges, or keep to the back if you want to just sit back and enjoy the show in a more passive way. Either way, you are unlikely to be disappointed.