Captivating Giant at the Factory

Thursday 28th May 09
Tobacco Factory Theatre
www.tobaccofactorytheatre.com
By Debbie Adams

Hunting the Giant’s Daughter was a captivating two-hour performance, telling the story of the oldest Arthurian legend on record, and all designed for a 21st century audience.

We watched theatre taken back to its rawest form, performed by Michael Harvey and accompanied by Lynne Denman.

The story is action packed, a young man is cursed to fall instantly in love with a woman nobody knows how to find. King Arthur and his knights scour the world to find her and then set about helping the young man win his love by overcoming increasingly difficult and dangerous tasks set by her father, one of the most fearsome Giants in the land.

Storyteller Michael Harvey, gave every character  life through poetic language,  expressions and sheer humour and characterisation that was both brilliant to watch and even more mesmerizing to listen to.

Traditional and newly composed music created and performed by Stacey Blythe were performed in a mixture of three instruments; the harp, piano and accordion, conveying the dynamic and mood of the story.

The opening chord motifs on the piano with the sublime singing by Lynne Denman, performing a mixture of seamless English and welsh is a fantastic moment in the play when the little hairs on the back of your neck stand up. These moments occurred several times during the play.

This was a performance where the audience were captivated and on the edge of their seats. At one point there was a silence from the audience where you could have heard a pin drop.

Sometimes details of finding the oldest animal were slightly over the top, but this was negligible compared to the whole production.  Both music and story telling were subject to improvisation during the performance and I feel like I have watched a truly traditional and yet original piece of theatre. Fantastic!