York Theatre Royal – Monday 4th April 2022
Reviewed by Michelle Richardson
4 ½ ****
To be honest with you I was unaware of Oi Frog & Friends, the best-selling books by Kes Gray and Jim Field, before going to see this production. It has been adapted for the stage by Emma Earle, Zoe Squire, Luke Bateman and Richy Hughes. I would like to get my grandchildren interested in theatre, so, after arranging a day off from work I took my 3 year old grandson and son, who just got off the train from Glasgow, where he is studying, and is back home for the week.
It’s a new day at Sittingbottom School, where everything is dictated by Cat’s Rule Book, all animals can only sit on something that rhymes with them, so Cats on a Mats, Hares on Chairs, Mules on Stools, you get the gist. It’s Frog’s first day and he is unhappy to hear that Frogs must sit on Logs, far too bumpy and full of splinters and can’t understand why everything must rhyme.
When Frog finds out that Dogs sit on Frogs, a coup d’état unfolds, with Frog gaining control of the Rule Book. Hit by the rhyming bug, chaos ensues with Frog laying down new rules. What follows is a frenzy of rhyming creatures, with head prefect Cat, now being forced to sit on gnats, plagued by bites to her bottom.
There is quite a bit of audience participation, which added to the enjoyment of the whole show. It’s hard to keep up with all the creatures and to work out what they rhyme with, but we all, both young and old, loved shouting out our own suggestions. An unsuspecting gentleman in the front row was also used and became one of the animals, Dolly the Duckbilled Platypus, can you think of anything to rhyme with that? There was also a challenge of trying to rhyme your own name. It was such great fun.
For this performance Sarah Palmer was Frog, she shares the role with Emily Essery, Rebecca Ayres was Cat, Jake Addley was Dog and Christopher Dobson was Cheetah, they do also play other creatures. The way the whole cast utilised their props and puppets, swapping and changing characters, was impressive and bought the characters to life. I particularly enjoyed Dog’s waggy tail and Cheetah’s fajita song. They truly are a talented bunch, acting, singing and puppetry.
The performance we watched was delayed by ½ hour due to technical difficulties. It is a testament to the show that it still kept the audience entertained, for what ended up being the full hour, very hard to do with such a young audience. The only reason I’ve knocked ½ a star off is because at times we couldn’t quite hear what was said.
A thoroughly engaging and fast paced show that had us all joining in and clapping along. Perfect for children, my grandson loved it, but also a joy to experience for us oldies.