Many of our much-loved fairy tales were originally incredibly gruesome and few more so than Blue Beard – the tale of a man who collects and then murders wives.

It is rich creative fodder for Emma Rice who takes this story and uses it to explore the murder of women not just in fairy tales but in our modern world.

In typical Rice style, the show blends wry and dark humour with music, dance and plenty of witty dialogue but it’s rapidly evident that while the show is funny it is also very angry.

In the programme Rice discusses how the murders of Sarah Everard and Zara Aleena prompted the work and the ripples of those killings are clear throughout the production.

Rice, who is both writer and director, brings us two parallel tales – the Blue Beard strand of two sisters and their mother who are pulled into Blue Beard’s web and that of a brother telling the story of a sister who walked home alone.

Both stories are framed by scenes within a convent which houses the Sisters of the Three Fs (Fearful, F***ed and Furious) who are a group of ninja nuns who come out fighting when they believe they are at risk.

The convent is led by Mother Superior, played with gusto by Katy Owen, who gives her own commentary not just on the action unfolding before us but also on various disparate subjects ranging from Jamie Oliver’s recipes to the need for uplifting church notices.

Tristan Sturrock plays the seemingly charming Blue Beard. Initially we see him as a stage magician whose illusions include cutting a woman in half - but we soon learn that his lust for dismembering women is anything but an illusion.

Robyn Sinclair’s Lucky is the woman who falls for Blue Beard, sucked into his world of love and passion. But when she is left at home and told not to open the locked chamber, she discovers her husband is anything but Prince Charming.

Stephanie Hockley plays her sister Trouble who is the life of the party while Patrycja Kujawska is the girls’ mother Treasure – a woman who will stop at nothing to save her daughters.

Vicki Mortimer’s sets and costumes are exquisite – with revolving wardrobes, playful games and party outfits which quickly pall when the festivities are abruptly ended. The show also makes effective use of song and music composed by Stu Barker.

Rice, who honed her skills at Kneehigh Theatre and directed hit shows including Trystan and Yseult and Brief Encounter, is never afraid to be experimental and the production is both imaginative and zany.

Blue Beard keeps the fairy tale sensibility by bringing in touches of the surreal while also being incredibly grounded in the brutal reality for women today who have to consider every walk home in case of danger. Initially it feels like the different elements are too disparate but, ever a consummate storyteller, Rice draws the strands together for a chilling and provocative finale.

A co-production between Rice’s company Wise Children and a host of regional theatres including Birmingham Rep, Blue Beard succeeds in being a show which is hugely entertaining while also challenging us to consider how the worst fairy tale cruelties can become part of our everyday lives.

4 stars

Reviewed by Diane Parkes, Wednesday 10 April at The Rep, Birmingham where it runs until Saturday 20 April.