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BrumHour saw Anansi The Spider at the invite of Birmingham Rep.
By Dave Massey
Anansi The Spider at Birmingham Rep: Review
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Beautifully told!
Directed by Robin Belfield created by Justin Audibert
Cynthia Emeagi, Becky Sanneh, and Elizabeth Peace play our narrators in stunning traditional outfits, as they explore tales of Anansi the Spider, a folklore character, who features here in several stories.
Anansi is hungry and getting ingredients from Snake to make dinner, but Snake’s ingredients come at a price, a tale-lashing, but Anansi has cunning and draws other beasts from his community to face the punishment. Can he survive the night?
Aimed at four to eight-year-olds, the fun, slightly scary stories are told through song, repetition, and bringing the audience into the story. Each of the performers has a great speaking and singing voice, and they are passionate and excited about the stories they are telling.
The set is fun and features several tree style branches with huge green leaves around. The set goes from dark to bright and back again as the stories unfold. Growing up in other countries would make younger kids wary of Spiders and Snakes in a different way than being in the UK, so it is easy to see how these stories of animals would resonate in West Africa and the Caribbean. Here they are charmingly told and very interesting to hear.
At just under fifty minutes, this production zips along. Do allow for December traffic coming to The Rep and walking through central Birmingham, or you’ll miss a chunk of the story.
Beautifully told, Anansi the Spider is at Birmingham Rep until 11th January 2026. Book tickets here: birmingham-rep.co.uk/whats-on/anansi-the-spider-2.
