I remember reading The Red Shoes by The Brothers Grimm as a child and being traumatised by the experience. For those of you like me, you will find something in common with the show The Struvvel Bushell, for the show is based on Heinrich Hoffmann’s rather horrifying children’s book of 1845, Der Struvvelpeter .
In this show, comedian “Dave Bushell”:comic attempts to weave together a variety of elements in an attempt to vilify the book. He avoids falling into the trap of relying on a ‘point and laugh’ type approach which would be such a temptation with Der Struvvelpeter a piece which is so clearly ludicrous to our modern ears. Instead Dave works up his own material around the subject, including asking why any parent would give this book to their children, challenging the credibility of children’s author great, Mark Twain, who first translated the book into English and (in some of the best lines of the show) making his own observations on the book itself. This is rounded out towards the end by an onstage interplay between Hoffman and the devil, discussing the origin of the book.
As one would expect from this clever young comedian The Struvvel Bushell is artistically ambitious. Dave avoids easy options and attempts to develop a complex evaluation of the subject with intelligent respect for his audience. But the one detraction I would make is at the moment the disparate elements of this show don’t gel. There were several different ways he came at the book, all valid, but in the end it felt like these different elements, whilst all strong in their own right didn’t capitalise on their proximity as well as they might.
That said, this show is very funny and very interesting. Dave is an energetic performer who brings creative zest to the subject. This show has more than its fair share of laughs to offer and content wise is one of the most fascinating shows I’ve seen thus far at the festival.
Visit the comedy festival website for bookings and further details