A poor Miller meets a stranger in the forest who makes him the following proposition: "Give me only what’s behind your Mill and I will make you rich, very rich." There isn’t anything behind my Mill, thinks the Miller, apart from an old apple tree. He accepts the terms. But oh, he should not have. Behind his Mill his daughter had been sweeping. The pact with the devil signed and sealed, the fate will fall on the Girl. How will she manage to escape it? She is helped along her path by an angel. She meets a King and becomes Queen. All seems well. But all this time the devil is watching her, biding his time…

This little-known tale by Grimm is a fantastic love story, full of humour and beauty…a story that speaks of loss and gain, of individual paths and growth in life… And of the faith that things will turn out well. No matter the events that befall them, they are able to accept their fate, allowing secret doors to be opened and miracles to happen. And when, at the end, a very young performer appears in the role of the prince, we realise that we can truly call Nicole and Martin a circus family!

Surprises first: Nicole & Martin’s interpretation of Grimm’s tale The Girl Without Hands. Performed in the big White Tent, this was a lively and hauntingly beautiful mix of theatre, circus skills, acrobatics and song. The husband and wife team managed to convey the range of human emotions inherent in the tale with such subtlety and innocence that the audience spontaneously rose to their feet to applaud. Twice. I’ve witnessed plenty of standing ovations in a variety of venues but nothing compared to the enthusiasm of this heart-felt Thank-You from three hundred 6-70 year-olds. Breathtaking! electric ink

Premiere: Losone (Tessin, Schweiz), 9. April 2011
Author: Based on the version by the Brothers Grimm, from an ancient oral tradition
Adaptation for Theatre: Nicole & Martin
Performance: Nicole und Martin Gubler-Schranz 
Director: Dominique Saner, Nicole & Martin
Choreography of artistic parts: Szilard Szekely 
Choreography of the dance elements: Andrea Herdeg
Supervision (music and compositions): Mauro Garbani
Costumes, artistic consultant: Maria Lehmann-Wipplinger 
Masks, Costumes: Ruth Mäusli
Lovesong: Vincenzo Ciotola
Music arrangements: Janina Riester
Light design: Christophe Siegenthaler

Support
Fachausschuss Theater und Tanz Region Basel, Swisslos, Fondation Ernst Göhner, Fondation Oertli, Migros pour-cent culturel, Fondation Suisse des Artistes Interprètes, M. und S. Bieri