adapted and directed by emma rice
presented by kneehigh theatre
special presentation • roda theatre
january 26–february 17, 2013 
Running time: 2 hours, including one 15 minute intermission
the play
The Wild Bride is back! The smash hit that ran away with hearts last winter returns for a honeymoon engagement in 2013. Kneehigh Theatre comes back to America with a stunning show that asks…What happens when your father accidentally sells you to the devil? The San Francisco Chronicle raves, “Bride is a gift that keeps on giving. What starts in an enchanted, bluesy folktale world dips into creepy nightmare terrain and sails aloft on wings of grit, resolution and fantasy. It’s a fairy tale for adults.” Don’t miss this devilish mix of vivid music and sweet romance.
hear songs from the show—free!
Listen to more free songs from the show
the buzz
“The Devil is at the crossroads, a girl is in peril and love is gloriously indestructible in the exhilarating The Wild Bride…A feast of timeless story, irresistible music and wildly imaginative theatricality…Bride is a gift that keeps on giving. What starts in an enchanted, bluesy folktale world dips into creepy nightmare terrain and sails aloft on wings of grit, resolution and fantasy. It’s a fairy tale for adults…told in cleverly bumptious rhymed couplets, an enthralling blend of early American blues with Eastern European and Celtic folk motifs and the beautifully executed, never-ending vaudeville-jig-fling-mock ballet choreography of Etta Murfitt. And it’s a story brought to life almost as expressively by the fancifully used everyday objects of Bill Mitchell’s set, Myriddin Wannell’s deceptively simple costumes and Sarah Wright’s props and puppets as by its six multitalented performers.”—San Francisco Chronicle
“Devilishly entertaining…Rice and company—who made Brief Encounter a Broadway hit—perform the work in song, rhymed speech, dance and stylized gestures. Six actors, singing and playing multiple instruments—guitars, fiddles, accordion and banjo—play all the roles. Bill Mitchell’s set, a fantastic assemblage of ladders and leafless trees, yields wonders…Anyone who believes in magic should see it!”—SF Examiner
“Such joy. Such wicked, delicious, heart-pounding joy. That’s what it feels like at the end of The Wild Bride, the dark fairy tale come to life on Berkeley Repertory Theatre’s Roda stage. This is, without question, the great treat of the holiday theater season…Wild Bride feels organically wild, bold and brave and full of the kind of sights, sounds and stories that make theater the most thrilling art form on the planet.”—Chad Jones’ Theatre Dogs
“Extraordinary…Kneehigh is back in top form with this stunningly intelligent dance and musical theater version of a Grimm’s fairytale…It’s not just the story itself that’s life-affirming here; it’s the endless invention and creativity that Rice and her team bring to its telling. And there’s even a positive take-away message, about the power of female solidarity to overcome hardship.”—Variety
“Quirky and larky, magical and wild…Witty, surprising, strange. I dreamt about it all night…Using blues, gospel, ethereal violin and menacing bass, and throwing in a dash of puppetry, it veers from comic absurdity to the grandeur of myth. Sometimes grotesque and often playful, it becomes a moving affirmation of endurance, regeneration and the power of purity.”—The Times of London
“Devilishly enjoyable…The most defiant display of survivor-hood since Gloria Gaynor…This is a show not just to be seen but also to be felt, and which leads both heroine and audience into the dark woods of the unconscious and sets us free.”—London Guardian
“Magical…Joyously buoyant, with vaudevillian touches, evoking the dirt-poor American South one minute then transporting us, the next, to a Scottish glen and a charmingly absurd, prancing prince…Stu Barker’s music, blending blues, jazz and Middle Eastern ululation, is fantastic.”—London Independent
“Haunting and poetic…For creativity and versatility The Wild Bride is a must-see…Adapted and directed by Emma Rice, with music by Stu Barker and Carl Grose, the versatility and skill of Kneehigh theatre company is something quite special. The performers are required to be actors, singers, dancers, puppeteers and musicians so as an audience we are never quite sure what is coming next and are constantly surprised and delighted.”—WhatsOnStage
introducing the wild bride
A sneak peek at Kneehigh’s The Wild Bride.
Please note: The Wild Bride includes strobe effects, smoke effects, herbal cigarettes and loud noises including gunfire. The show also features brief simulated violence and sex. If you have questions about the show’s content, please contact the box office.
press photos
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