CAST

BRINGING STORIES ALIVE

Margarete Kraemer
Playwright

Geraldine Broderick
Director

Nick Broderick
Narrator

Sarah Bate
Storyteller

Dennis Fenwick
Storyteller

Christine Giddens
Storyteller

Lisa Lauder
Gretel Schmitz

Shelley Francis
Charlotte Grimm

Hawami Seki
Pianist

Cast change: Geraldine Broderick has taken over the storyteller part of Christine Giddens who, unfortunately, is unable to appear on stage due to unforeseen family circumstances.

DIRECTOR'S NOTE


I always approach directing as a privilege. Even more so when the author is local. I had the privilege and pleasure of working with Margarete when I played Bronia, Marie Curie’s sister, in a play Margarete had written. So when she said she had written a play about the Grimm Brothers I was very keen to be involved.

This play sheds light on the Grimm Brothers’ stories and shows that these stories were anything but fairy tales. In fact, some of them lean much closer to the macabre and show us just how our understanding of the word ‘grim’ came about. For me the real stories are so much better than the Disneyfied versions we are so familiar with. 

However, even the Grimm Brothers acknowledged that some editing was necessary. After their first publication they toned down some of their original texts to make their stories more palatable to a larger audience. But they never intended these stories to be read to small children. 

I hope you enjoy this journey into a world that seems to be fading from sight. Once again, enjoy the real Grimm stories!