“The show captivates and entertains the audience, beautifully bringing to life the cherished characters we all fell in love with.“
Louise Mason
4 Gruffalo Pies
Riverside Theatres
Parents will need no introduction to The Gruffalo and its sequel The Gruffalo’s Child. Julia Donaldson’s much loved and much awarded children’s books have sold millions around the world with films, commemorative coins and stamps, games soft toys and even a ‘Gruffalo Woodland Trail’. Of course there would be an adaption to stage and what a success the Tall Stories adaption has been. In Australia Children eagerly line up to see one of their favourite stories come brought to life by CDP productions every year.
The story is narrated, acted and sung and the production is slick and entertaining. The set design is simple, allowing for the show to tour around Australia, yet very effective. It works effectively with the excellent lighting design to create the world of the Gruffalos and their companions. Shadow and colour are sued to great effect.
From the moment the lights dimmed the Jessie Lancaster, Drew Liningston and Rebecca Rolle engaged the children with their storytelling and performances. The pace and energy are perfectly suited to entertain the age bracket of their audience. Our 20 month old was too young to understand what was going on but she eagerly jumped up to dance and clap along to the songs. Our four year old was completely engrossed in the production calling out and interacting throughout.
The tokenised costumes are colourful and stylised and are easily identifiable. The children eagerly accept the character. “That’s the snake, my favourite” shouts our four year old (he loves snakes). There was even a lovely moment when the Gruffalo’s child takes her favourite toy ‘Sticky’ along for comfort. “Sticky” was instantly identified by many in the audience, our son included, as Stickman, the character from another beautiful and delightful Donaldson story.
The show captivates and entertains the audience, beautifully bringing to life the cherished characters we all fell in love with. The production has finished its run at Riverside but it will be back later in the year along with another of Donaldson’s beautiful stories, The Whale and The Snail.
Louise Mason, Theatre Now
Photo: Madison Hegarty and Jade Paskins (2018/19 Australian Cast). Photo By: Heidrun Lohr
