The Asbo Fairy Tales

Chavs. Neds. Pikeys. Call them what you will, Grapple Theatre Company—the student group behind The Asbo Fairy Tales—clearly finds the disenfranchised British underclass a fascinating lens through which to view Hans Christian Anderson’s famous children’s fables. Quite whether anyone else does remains to be seen.

This is a production that relies heavily on banal stereotypes – a setup that could perhaps be made to work on the back of some strong, irreverent performances. Unfortunately, this is not what you get from this student ensemble. Instead The Asbo Fairy Tales suffers under the weight of poor projection, lethargic delivery and one of the very worst Jeremy Kyle impressions you're likely to come across. It’s not all bad, but this is very much a mixed-ability troupe.

Beyond the amateur theatrics, though, my biggest gripe with this production is its underlying mean-spiritedness. Let’s not forget, this is a group of privileged student actors taking the piss out of the some of society's poorest and most vulnerable. If comedy traditionally finds its roots in the weak making fun of the strong, those at the bottom mocking those at the top, the disenfranchised laying into those who call the shots, then Asbo Fairy Tales represents a complete inversion of this principle. The entire premise of this production is weak.

Clichéd, messy and misguided, there is little to recommend about The Asbo Fairy Tales.