Hansel and Gretel is often one of the most controversial of fairy tales--from its inclusion of witches to the cannibalism to the violence, not to mention the child abandonment issues. So it's interesting to see a different interpretation of it cause controversy since I am just the observer. Obviously I'm not the only interested party since variations of the following article appeared on a few news services this week.
Hoodie and Gretel: Revolt over Christmas school play casting pair as hooligans by Andy Dolan
It's supposed to be a fairy tale about heroic children defeating a witch--perfect for stirring up some Christmas spirit.
But one primary school has transformed Hansel and Gretel into a depressing study of anti- social behaviour for its pantomime.
It sees the brother and sister recast as present-day thugs who behave like stereotypical hoodie-wearing yobs and terrorise their neighbourhood in search of a gingerbread house.
Click through to read the rest of the article. This one by Dolan was the most comprehensive of the version I read.
What stands out the most for me is that this rewrite has been accused of killing the Christmas spirit. Since when has Hansel and Gretel been a Christmas story? It's not like they wrote a play with the Sugarplum Fairy as a thug!
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