A glass coffin and a dormitory for dwarves were just a couple of the curiosities I recently encountered at Philip Pulman’s Grimm Tales. As an imaginative re-working of the beloved Brothers Grimm fairy tales, the show promised an immersive experience in a dark, subversive world. Recently plunged back into pitch black dawn and evening commutes, I was more than ready to immerse myself into the fantasy world of folklore.

Office Breaks Grimm Tales

Experiencing a frisson of excitement, I find I have no idea what to expect when I enter the cavernous Bargehouse. Mincing my way up a tortuous spiral staircase, I’m met with mud-spattered wedding dresses fluttering coquettishly in the draft.

Office Breaks Grimm Tales

Arriving at the penthouse seven dwarfs’ dormitory, the nostalgic strains of wartime music fill the air. The effect is both mysterious and melancholy. Gingerly sitting down on one of the miniature beds, I resist the urge to take a bite out of one of the shiny, red apples. Was I being led into temptation? And with what repercussions? With normal conventions turned on their head, I feel awkwardly out of my comfort zone.

Office Breaks Grimm Tales

Office Breaks Grimm Tales

Twenty minutes passes and agitated murmurings start. Finally, we’re ordered to move en masse down the spiral staircase. Entering a dark cavern lit up by hundreds of tiny glass bulbs, my feet sink blissfully into a soothingly spongy wood chip carpet.  Scrambling for a seat on school-style low wooden benches, I realise with horror that I’m now within touching distance of the actors. Exactly how immersive would this experience get?

Office Breaks Grimm tales

As the action gets going, I slowly relax as it becomes clear that these are formal staged plays with no requirement for audience participation. As a Rumpelstiltskin fancier, I’m a little disappointed by the lack of old-school favourites, but by the time I settle into Three Little Men in the Woods, I’m hooked. A tale of kindness over cruelty and more disturbingly, beauty over ugliness, the actions of two half-sisters are judged by three little men brilliantly brought to life by puppets. With suitably karmic repercussions, the selfless beauty marries her prince leaving her half-sister spitting rubber frogs in a rather alarming fashion.

After each tale, we’re herded up and down the spiral staircase to enter an endless maze of magical rooms where wizened hags, abandoned waifs and dashing princes play out endless permutations on the good/beautiful – mean/ugly theme.

Office Breaks Grimm Tales

The show’s grand finale is Hansel and Gretel. Rusting bird cages, abandoned dolls and a demonic soundtrack of clanking chains add a dark overtone to this time-worn favourite. Having gorged on gingerbread tiles and escaped the human-size oven, it’s with childish delight that we all applaud the Harry Potter-esque Hansel and his sibling as they evade the cauldron.

Office Breaks Grimm Tales

At the end of the performance, we’re encouraged to explore more of the house and its fascinating décor.  Creeping back up the stairs, I can’t resist a lie-down in the glass coffin or a peek into the dwarves’ drawers. From the artful peeling plasterwork to the higgledy-piggledy piles of chairs, I feel immersed in a surreal dream in this fascinatingly eerie house.

Office Breaks Grimm Tales

Heading back to the tube, everything suddenly appears disappointingly normal and routine. Wishing I’d brought my witch’s hat for the ride home, I realise that my immersive experience may stay with me for some time yet.

Grimms Tales runs until the end of April 2015.For more information, visit: http://www.grimm-tales.co.uk/