Hansel & Gretel

ACT ONE

Once upon a time…

Hansel and Gretel live with their mother and father in a tiny little house. The family have fallen on hard times, and the children’s parents struggle to make ends meet. Every morning, their father ventures into town to sell his homemade brooms while their mother scrounges rations for dinner. Hansel and Gretel are always hungry, and their clothes are ragged and worn. The other children tease them when they play in the streets.

One day, an enchanting woman appears, riding a magical bicycle and selling delicious ice creams! Penniless, Hansel and Gretel watch jealously as the other children buy giant ice-cream cones. All is not as it seems however as the mysterious woman is an evil witch in disguise and she has a taste for naughty children…

That night, Hansel and Gretel start to quarrel at the table. They are scolded by their parents, who are at their wits’ end. Feeling hard done by and desperate for food, Hansel and Gretel decide to steal the last loaf of bread and run away. A magical forest begins to grow from the ground. Hansel and Gretel venture inside, laying a trail of breadcrumbs to mark their way back home.

A squabble of noisy birds makes quick work of the crumbs and the children are lost and alone. They run from the shadows and ghosts that appear in the forest until they meet a friendly face, the Sandman. He tells the children he will protect them while they sleep and introduces them to the Man in the Moon and the beautiful Fairies who live amongst the stars.

Worn out, Hansel and Gretel fall asleep. They wake to the smell of gingerbread and see a delicious-looking house covered in chocolate and sweets. The door of the house creaks open and the children go inside.

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ACT TWO

Dinner is served!

Inside the Gingerbread House, Hansel and Gretel are treated to an enormous banquet as the Witch and her troupe of pink-iced gingerbread men provide a cabaret. Hansel and Gretel gorge themselves on every food imaginable until they can no longer move and fall asleep at the table. Once the children are asleep, the Witch reveals her true, terrifying self.

Back in the forest Mother and Father search frantically. They are beside themselves with worry until the Sandman and the Fairies arrive to explain what has happened. Together they continue their quest to find and save their children from the witch.

Meanwhile the Witch prepares disgusting concoctions to fatten Hansel before she cooks him in her giant oven. Gretel tries in vain to free Hansel from his cage. When that doesn’t work, she tries to delay the Witch from cooking Hansel. She gives Hansel a chicken bone to use when the Witch asks Hansel to stick his finger out of the cage. The scrawny chicken bone makes the Witch think Hansel is still too skinny to eat.

As the Witch takes a nap, Gretel sneaks up to steal the keys to Hansel’s cage. Just as she is about to grab them the Witch wakes up. In a terrible rage, and fed up with waiting so long, the Witch decides she will cook Hansel and tells Gretel to prepare the oven! Gretel finds some bellows by the fire and pretends not to know how to use them, tricking the Witch, who snatches them from her hands. As the Witch fans the flames Gretel runs behind her. She shoves the Witch’s head first into the oven and slams the door.

Hansel and Gretel are free, and the Witch’s evil magic is destroyed! Their parents arrive with the Sandman and Fairies to find the children safe and well. All is forgiven and there is a wonderful celebration.

This production was originally created for Royal New Zealand Ballet and premiered at the Wellington Opera House, Wellington, New Zealand on the 6th of November 2019.