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Paul Boyd's musical of Hansel & Grettel has been regularly staged since it premiered in 1997 and has consistently been one of Paul’s most successful productions across Ireland and the USA.  Now it is set to return to the UK in an all-new version that features updated music and songs and a revised book.

The very first production of Hansel & Grettel was in 1997 at the Riverside Theatre in Coleraine (in Northern Ireland), and featured Paul in the role of Hansel and Irish writer and broadcaster Tara Flynn (who fifteen years later would appear in the original cast of Paul’s musical Molly Wobbly’s Tit Factory) as Grettel.  The original 1997 cast also featured Laurence Connor as Fats the Frog - Laurence is now best known as a director of musicals having staged, among other things, the national tours of Phantom of the Opera and Jesus Christ Superstar, the West End revival of Miss Saigon, the Broadway/West End musical School of Rock, and Andrew Lloyd-Webber's Bad Cinderella.

The show’s second production, produced by the Lyric Theatre Belfast in 1999, broke box office records, and featured vocals performed by West End and Broadway star Rachel Tucker.

In February 2008 Hansel & Grettel enjoyed its USA premiere at Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in a hugely successful new staging by Dreamchild Productions which was later revived at Miramar Cultural Center, Florida, in November 2009 in a version co-produced with Broward Center for the Performing Arts.

In 2010 Paul Boyd directed a new staged concert version of Hansel & Grettel, premiering the show’s first extensive script and music revisions in thirteen years, at the New Wimbledon Studio in London.  Paul then directed the Lyric Theatre Belfast’s 15th Anniversary production of Hansel & Grettel which ran from 2nd December 2012 - 13th January 2013.

The show is returning to the UK stage later this year in a revised version featuring additional songs and an updated score; Hansel & Grettel will be produced by The Stage 100 Award winners Creation Theatre (who had great success with Paul's The Tale of the Beauty and the Tail of the Beast in 2022/23) at Oxford's North Wall Theatre from 1st December 2024 until 4th January 2025.  To book click here.

Belfast Telegraph

Deep in the heart of the woodland, hidden by shadows and surrounded by trees, the Witches of Winter rise from the frozen earth, sniffing the air.  They glide through the forest to prepare for the waking of their leader, a mysterious older witch known only as the Priestess of Winter. 

On the edge of the town, two young children, Hansel and Grettel, live with their parents in a run-down cottage.  With the arrival of the first frost they know the cold season has begun - the season when their mother hears voices in her head, compelling her to leave the children deep in the woods for the Priestess of Winter to take care of.

Only the birds circling in the cold air high above can save the children from the most powerful witch in the land, and a dinner invitation unlike any other.

This acclaimed adaptation by Paul Boyd of one of the world’s best-loved fairy tales is set in an atmospheric winter wonderland full of magic, mystery, and misadventure.  

Join Hansel, Grettel, and a host of bewitching characters and feathered friends as they serve up a musical menu of catchy songs, mystical spells, and just a touch of winter magic.

Hansel & Grettel is a full-length musical performed by a multi-roleplaying cast of six aided and abetted by wonderful wishes and wise word - all rounded off with pbm's most popular and exciting mega-mix finale!  

Riverside Theatre, Coleraine November - December 1997

Lyric Theatre, Belfast November 1999 - January 2000

An Grianán Theatre, Co. Donegal Nov - December 2001

The Market Place Theatre, Armagh December 2002

Pavilion Theatre, Co. Dublin Dec 2005 – Jan 2006

Broward Center, Fort Lauderdale FL, USA February 2008

Miramar Cultural Center, Miramar, FL November 2009

New Wimbledon Studio, London May 2010

Lyric Theatre, Belfast December 2012 - January 2013

The North Wall, Oxford December 2024 - January 2025

"Boyd gives full recognition to the fact that the best stories are often the scariest in a witty, clearly told story. Hansel and Grettel is an old favourite: Paul Boyd’s musical has been staged in eight professional productions since it premiered in 1997, and it is consistently popular. It’s the “mega-mix” finale, an exuberant song and dance reprise of the entire story, that really captures the audience and carries them on to delighted final applause"  Irish Times

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