Grand Opera House York – Monday 11th March 2019
Reviewed by Michelle Richardson
3***
The story of Elmer, in its current format, is celebrating his 30th birthday. He has entertained young children through books and television, and now brings a brand new stage adaption to theatres across the UK. Yesterday I took 2 grandchildren aged 2 ¾ and 20 months as it is advertised as being suitable for over 1’s.
Elmer is not your usual grey elephant, no, he is multicoloured, a vibrant feast of many colours in a patchwork formation, completely different to the rest of the herd. Usually he is bright and has a playful streak, but he has hit a low point and is tired of being the odd one out, different, he wants to be like all the others. He sets out on a quest to hide but ultimately he discovers and accepts who he really is.
Bought to life by three puppeteers, Elmer encounters monkeys, zebras, birds, frogs, a giraffe and a lion on his travels, singing and dancing away. He misses the herd and goes back in camouflage, turning himself grey, but he does not fool any of them, they know it is Elmer. He soon realises that they accept him for who he is and his colour is part of him, and what makes him special. This is a strong message for the audience, even if they are way too young to understand.
When the show first started my two boys were mesmerized and loved seeing all the colour and puppetry. It was a nice bright stage, with excellent puppets, and I enjoyed hearing the different accents as the puppeteers took on the different animals. They did an excellent job of switching between animals, slipping into characters with ease.
Unfortunately the show did not quite hit the mark and it did drag on, not keeping us entertained for the whole time. I believe that this was due to the lack of audience participation, there were hardly any of us singing along. Unfortunately, there were not enough bums on seats to join in with the singing and dancing, though I did try and involve my two, which was hard. Perhaps the audience were just too reserved? I would have loved to have seen a packed theatre as I believe that would have made a huge difference to the show and would have enhanced the theatre experience no end. It is such a shame, you are never to young, or old for that matter, to enjoy theatre.