The Theatre at The Tabard, Turnham Green – until 31st December 2022
Reviewed by Bobbi Fenton
5*****
Five Children and It is probably one of the best pieces of children’s theatre that I have ever seen. It is the perfect way for everybody of all ages to get into the Christmas spirit, with Christmas carols playing from the moment the audience enter the auditorium.
Based on the book by E. Nesbit, Five Children and It is an absolutely hilarious play, filled with incredibly funny moments of slapstick comedy and a rather amusing puppet as the Psammead, puppeteered by Adam Boyle. Despite the presence of the puppet, however, Adam Boyle also portrays the character of the Psammead as much as the puppet, with facial expressions and body language that is simply impossible to achieve through puppetry. I thought this was brilliant.
The Five Children, Cyril (Sam Lightfoot-Loftus), Anthea (Lucia Barker), Robert (Ben Prout), Jane (Lucy Heathcote) and the baby, find a Psammead on the beach, and discover that it has the power to grant wishes. Overwhelmed with all the possibilities at their fingertips, we see the children wish for gold, which they then struggle to actually spend at the market. They decide to wish for something better the next time, and end up stuck on top of a church tower as a result of that wish. They fight off real soldiers the next day, because of a miscommunication between Robert and the Psammead when he wishes for his other siblings to have a wish come true without having to go all the way down to the beach. Their final wish, however, is for their Mother (Lizzie Treece) to be happy and have a nice Christmas the next day, and we see this wish granted with the arrival of a very special character, who also brings some gifts for the children which reflect their adventures over the previous few days.
The four main characters display a rather similar dynamic to that seen in Narnia between the Pevensie siblings. This is a lovely representation of these characters, which may be a result of the original book being written around the same time as the Narnia books. That said, the close friendships of the cast really shine through during the performance, which also may have contributed to the Narnia-like quality. As well as lots of comedy, this play also features some really nice moments between the four siblings, such as a beautiful rendition of Ding Dong Merrily on High, and a scene towards the end when all the characters join in singing Hark the Herald Angels Sing, which starts with a delightful solo by Lucy Heathcote.
I also must mention the brilliant use of multi-role by Lizzie Treece as Mother and two market stall owners, as well as Adam Boyle as the Psammead, a gingerbread man seller, a policeman, a vicar, and the very special character at the end of the play.
I also really loved the traditional yet simple costumes that are worn, as they are very effective in setting the scene as 1902 Edwardian England.
This play is absolutely wonderful, and is a real treat for the whole family. You will wish you had seen it sooner.