The Lowry, Salford – until Sunday 5 January 2020
Reviewed by Angharad Crabtree
4****
A good adaptation of a much-loved Christmas tale. It would always be hard to out-perform the 2000 film of The Grinch, but the theatrical interpretation worked well through incorporating existing themes and music, whilst initiating some of its’ own story lines. Instead of the usual anonymous narrator, the Grinch’s dog Max is instead brought to life, providing a retrospective view (Giff Rhys Jones), looking back on his younger self (Matt Terry) and his interactions with the Grinch. This brought an interesting new perspective on the tale, as from the dog’s slightly more moral viewpoint, we experience the moral dilemma of whether he should assist the Grinch or follow his heart. The acting from both ages of Max were excellent, with some amazing musical performances from Matt Terry especially. Although, there may have been a bit too much digression into the dog’s story to begin with, when people were eagerly anticipating the arrival of the Grinch, and the familiar story line to interject.
The next characters we are presented with are a chorus of ‘Whos’, which all seem to have an almost frantic abundance of energy, allowing the audience to empathise slightly more than traditionally with the Grinch’s irritation for them. However, the gaudy costumes, make up and general aura from the actors gave undeniable cheer to the audience, with their upbeat tunes portraying their adoration for the festive period. The star of the Whos – as to be expected – was most definitely Cindy Lou-Who, providing the adorable and heartwarming good nature that we have grown to know and love from this character, in addition to an angelic singing voice.
However, the ultimate star of the show was the Grinch, played by Edward Baker-Duly. His excellent performance channeled the cheek and charm of Jim Carrey’s performance, whilst also executing original humour, plotlines and choreography. He perfectly embodies the Grinch in a way I wasn’t sure was possible without enhanced cinematics, but Mr Baker-Duly had the audience enchanted by his interpretation of this outlandish character.
The costumes for all cast members were excellent, the Whos were appropriately bright and the Grinch was excellently furry. In addition, the set was beautifully designed, with transitions between scenes seamlessly made and the props were fantastically representative of Dr Seuss’ style of drawing. The orchestra performance on some of the traditional musical numbers was outstanding. Perfectly executed, which allowed the audience to sing along to songs they were familiar with.