Lauren Crisp is a book editor, writer and keen follower of arts and culture. Born and raised in Harrogate, Lauren recently moved back to North Yorkshire after a stint in London, where she regularly reviewed theatre – everything from big West End shows to small fringe productions. She is now eager to explore the culture on offer in and around her home town.  You can contact Lauren on laurencrispwriter@gmail.com 

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Based on Sophie Anderson’s children’s novel, The House with Chicken Legs has been enchantingly adapted for stage by award-winning theatre company Les Enfants Terribles. The production, currently at Leeds Playhouse as part of a tour across the country, brings the author’s imaginative, dreamy tale to dazzling life and is a resplendent feast for the eyes.

The story, rooted in Slavic folklore, follows 12-year-old Marinka, whose house has legs (specifically, chicken legs) and a mind of its own, taking off to far-flung corners of the universe at a moment’s notice. Marinka’s grandmother is a spirit guide who ushers the dead from this world to the next so that they may sit amongst the stars, and is teaching her granddaughter to one day do the same. The only problem is that Marinka, young and full of life, wants to forge her own destiny in the world of the living.

The production’s fast-paced narrative is at once energetic and emotionally charged, alive with the wonders of storytelling, seamlessly transporting its audience to other worlds entirely, with a compelling blend of stage action, set changes, music, puppetry and mesmerising animation. Creative and beautiful, this is true escapism.



Image © Rah Petherbridge

The play’s music is spellbinding, with a captivating score by Alexander Wolfe that journeys from New Orleans to Eastern Europe, to the stars and beyond. Every song serves a purpose (often not the case in a musical adaptation), all accompanied by instruments played by the actors themselves – everything from flute to accordion, saxophone to electric guitar – proving themselves truly multi-talented.

Ultimately, this is a tale of life and death, but one which deals with matters of the afterlife with wisdom and warmth. Anderson notes that in her novel she was eager to “help children see death in a more positive way, as the circle of life”. The stage version delivers on this brief, transforming the narrative of grief into a bright, happy and moving celebration of life.

It is worth stressing that this is not just a play for youngsters; whilst the piece treads delicately on the macabre and the darker questions, audience members of all ages will fall under its spell.  This is magic on stage; and yes, chicken legs do feature. You’ll have to see it to believe it.

The House with Chicken Legs is on at the Leeds Playhouse until September 16. 

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