Review: Rapunzel: A Hairy Tale at Tobacco Factory Theatres

Add this show to your Christmas list for some proper job theatre this festive season

Rapuzel: A Hairy Tale, is the family Christmas show at Tobacco Factory Theatres this year. As usual, the theatre has brought audiences the perfect piece of theatre to set us up for the festive season.

The joyful and intricate storytelling brings us an adventure that can be enjoyed by all ages, proven by the rapturous applause come the end. A pack of Brownies sat enthralled throughout. Adults chortled at the nuanced performances. Even moody teens (mine) had to admit it was “actually really funny”.

To say too much about the show would spoil it. Sharon Clark’s writing is smart. When you think you know where it’s going, it’s turned on its head. It also brings together fairy tale with a touch of science. Astronomy with a star motif is a key theme.

Of course good writing needs the talents of a multi-rolling cast of actor musicians to bring it to life.

Anna Marks Pryce is Rapunzel, the music loving, stargazing young person who wants to explore the world outside her window. The performance very much gives Millie Bobby Brown Stranger Things Series One.

It’s due to an interesting feature of the show, which is the exploration of feelings. Sometimes new feelings. Sometimes difficult feelings. It’s a logical device considering the isolation Rapunzel has faced spending her life in a tower.

It’s something that younger children learning to name and recognise their emotions will identify with.

The Stranger Things vibe is further enhanced by Joe Price’s lighting design with its strings of fairy lights and lamps guiding characters on their journey in the Neath.

Rapunzel has been kept away from the Neath – the world outside and below her window. She has been led to believe by her aunt Serafina that it’s too dangerous to leave the tower. They are the only two people left in the world. Mischa Jardine is Serafina, finding the conflicts and complexities of the character, manipulating the audience with each scene.

The Queen – Rapunzel’s aunt – has had the country searching for years for her missing niece, offering a reward to those who find her.

It is the delightfully dorky Benito who does so. He’s played with charm and wide-eyed innocence by Adam Mirsky.

Zweyla Mitchell Dos Santos is uber fashionista Donatella the Queen. Her performance is a big bundle of fun, particularly her Act 2 opening number.

She is flanked by Phil King as flamboyant hairdresser Teazy Weazy. Alongside his many hilarious moments was his entrance as someone who is supposed to be fast asleep. With a flourish, he took his position on the stage floor, giving Play That Goes Wrong energy.

The prominent woolly beards and Rapunzel’s hair pretty much made up extra members of the cast.

The show was performed in the round, centred upon Madeleine Girling’s elevated circular design covered in constellations. The auditorium of the Factory Theatre is a beautiful place to watch theatre in this formation. It naturally brings the audience into the action when movement is cleverly directed – by Tom Brennan – around the full space.

The show of course culminates in a happy ever after secrets are revealed, journeys are complete and lessons are learned.

The strong writing and excellent cast really make this an outstanding piece of storytelling that will entertain, lift spirits and put the icing on the Christmas cake.

Rapunzel: A Hairy Tale will be at Tobacco Factory Theatres until 17 January 2026

For more information or to book, visit: https://tobaccofactorytheatres.com/shows/rapunzel-a-hairy-tale/

Accessible Performances
BSL-interpreted performances – Interpreter Kate Neill
Friday 19 December 2025 at 7pm
Saturday 20 December 2025 at 2pm

Captioned Performances
Saturday 10 January 2026 at 7pm
Sunday 11 January 2026 at 11am

Relaxed Performance
Sunday 04 January 2025 at 4pm

Cast and Creatives
Serafina: Mischa Jardine
Teazy Weazy: Phil King
Rapunzel: Anna Marks Pryce
Benito: Adam Mirsky
Donatella: Zweyla Mitchell dos Santos

Director: Tom Brennan
Writer: Sharon Clark
Composer: Tom Crosley-Thorne
Designer: Madeleine Girling
Lighting Designer: Joe Price
Producer: Hattie De Santis
Movement Consultant: Laïla Diallo
Associate Director: Lydia Cook
Production Manager: Ed Borgnis
Costume Supervisor: Lucy Howarth
Associate Lighting Designer / Programmer: Hugo Dodsworth
Sound Technician: Finn MacNeil
Stage Manager: Hannah Clare
Assistant Stage Manager: Seren Tuson

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