Disney and the monopolisation of fairy-tales
With our latest family summer show now up and running, we are discovering the power, the excitement and the challenge of adapting a well loved story.
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This year’s show is an all-new adaptation of Beauty and the Beast, written by emerging talents Sidonie Welton and Brad Tutt. Like previous summer adaptations of Cinderella, Treasure Island and Pinocchio, the show takes the core elements of the various retellings of the tale and builds a brand new show around them.
In the case of Beauty and the Beast, the story goes back a long way. It has its roots in Cupid and Psyche, with influential versions by both Beaumont and Villeneuve published in the eighteenth century. Today of course, as well as pantomime and stage adaptations, the Disney animated and now live action versions are hugely popular.
In fact, in a way that we’ve never seen before, the power that Disney exerts over a story has become obvious. We do not have a relationship with Disney but even if we had, our decision was to reimagine the story, presented by a band of musical players and full of comedy and incredible new music composed by David Haller and played live by the company.
In our version, Belle has two sisters – the conniving Coco, engaged to vain and greedy Hugo, and the young and naive Chanel. The beast’s castle is populated not by enchanted furniture but by spirits who help and entertain Belle and bring the magic to the story. Crucially, and this doesn’t give anything away that we don’t discover very quickly, our beast has been transformed in other people’s eyes, not in physical terms, so there is no sense that a happy ending comes with achieving a particular appearance.
Audiences are loving the show, and the final musical battle between the beast and Hugo is proving a particular triumph, but talking to audience members afterwards we are discovering the very particular expectations of those looking, in particular, for the now iconic yellow dress worn by Belle in the Disney adaptation. The power of Disney to own, reinvent and monopolise a story, through marketing, brand partnerships and merchandise is astonishing.
That said, the joy of this experience has been seeing children’s capacity to enjoy a new version of a story they think they already knew, to meet a new Belle and her alternative family, and share in her adventures – and to see how influential a parent or guardian can be in facilitating that enjoyment. Seeing the discussions that audience members are having in the interval and after the show, and the delight that children have in unpicking and then owning a new understanding is particularly rewarding – but those discussions are clearly important for children, whether linked to stories read at home, time spent watching TV or in the cinema, or seeing a show like our Beauty and the Beast. If we are to ensure that the next generation is an inquisitive, imaginative, creative one, it is crucial that we continue to challenge children now in ways like this, and to foster a sense of delight in being challenged.
Tickets are available now at www.greenwichtheatre.org.uk
Photo courtesy of Danny With A Camera.