This is a most unusual, charming, intimate and magical show, supposedly for young people between the ages of 4 and 7, but at the performance I attended there was a child of 2 who was clearly enjoying it as much as everyone else. It is a promenade performance - each scene taking place in a different area of the historic theatre - and all the better because audience … [Read more...]
Reviews of Children's Theatre in London's West End, Off-West End and Fringe
Oi Frog and Friends! at the Lyric Theatre | Review
As my children are now in Year 3 and have graduated from The Very Hungry Caterpillar canon, I was a little nervous as to whether they’d find the hour-long stage adaptation of Kes Gray and Jim Field’s Oi Frog (and the rest of the Oi opus) too pre-school for their palette. My nerves were soothed within about 30 seconds of the curtain rising on this jointly developed … [Read more...]
Review of Chickenshed’s Snow White
Chickenshed presents Snow White, the most swinging Christmas show around. This is not the traditional Snow White story as we know it or expect it to be, remember there is no ‘seven dwarfs’ in the title. If you are taking young children, it may be worth just having a quiet word with them, to explain this is a slightly different version of Snow White - although there … [Read more...]
Horrible Histories: Barmy Britain – Part Four! at the Apollo Theatre
With two thoroughly capable performers (both trained by some of the UK’s finest acting academies) giving it their all in this multi-role romp through the days of the Vikings to current political madness, Horrible Histories: Barmy Britain is energetic, edifying and occasionally a little close-to-the-bone. With enough flatulence-based comedy to make Chaucer proud, the … [Read more...]
Review of The Worst Witch at the Vaudeville Theatre
Emma Reeves’ musical adaption of Jill Murphy’s classic Worst Witch fiction series provides gratifying and uplifting entertainment for the whole family thanks to its multi-talented cast and its (mostly) spectacular staging. With the exception of two wobbly creative moments in the first act (which will likely be rectified), director Theresa Heskins’ production of The … [Read more...]
Feel the Love at Chickenshed Theatre | Review
Chickenshed Young Company presents Feel the Love. This was not the usual type of theatre where everyone sat in rows, one behind the other. It was an immersive production, with groups of seats strategically arranged around the auditorium. When I walked in and took my seat, it did feel as though I was in a jazz bar with music playing all around me. A very nice … [Read more...]
The Tiger Who Came To Tea at Aylesbury Waterside Theatre
Around fifty years ago my mother read a storybook as a child. Twenty years on she had a child of her own and read the same book to him. Fast forward another thirty years or so and that grown-up child sat in the theatre with his mum, watching that very story recreated on the stage. This year sadly saw the passing of Judith Kerr, the incredible lady behind the story … [Read more...]
The Tigon and the Liger at Chickenshed | Review
The Tigon and the Liger is an interesting production. It begins like a workshop, where toddlers and very young children walk around amongst the cast participating in various activities, in an extremely relaxed environment. This is a great way to get young children involved and engaged and interested in theatre. To be honest, I was a bit confused, as I wasn’t quite … [Read more...]
Streatham Space Project – The Jungle Book
The Jungle Book at Streatham Space Project is the story of Mowgli, a little boy who was raised by wolves in the jungle and faced the fearsome man-eating tiger, Shere Khan. This story was told by a small cast of only four. Shere Khan played by Jordan Laidley, Mowgli played by Kayleigh Barnes, Bagheera played by Jonathon Hands and Baloo played by Hannah Harris. They … [Read more...]