Grand Opera House York – Saturday 21st May 2022.
Reviewed by Michelle Richardson
4****
The Gruffalo is a well know children’s book, first published in 1999, by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler. It was first adapted to stage by Tall Stories over 20 years ago and is still going strong to this day.
The story follows the escapades of Mouse, venturing into the deep dark wood on the hunt for hazelnuts. With just a map in hand, Mouse encounters numerous Predators within the wood, and being at the bottom of the food chain, has every right to be scared. But this mouse is no ordinary mouse!
Mouse has a vivid imagination and uses clever tricks to escape danger. Whilst following the map Mouse encounters the sly Fox, the eccentric Owl and finally the flamboyant Snake, the latter complete with maracas. Each of these animals has only one intention, after invitations to their individual homes, and that is to have Mouse on their menus. The cunning Mouse refuses each offer by concocting the Gruffalo, a gruesome creature with frightening features. After getting rid of all the Predators, Mouse is shocked to encounter a real Gruffalo and again must avoid being dinner.
The stage really does look like a deep dark wood, the kind you get in a children’s book anyway. Imposing, almost cartoonish trees setting the scene. The costumes are effective, with the upturn of a collar and whip out of a tail turn a person into a fox, a headband become ears, a bit of makeup and again a tail appearing from nowhere, to create a mouse, it is quite simple but very clever.
We don’t see the Gruffalo costume until later in the show, and he almost looked like a cuddly teddy, not scary at all. The children loved seeing him up on the stage though, I know my lot were excited to finally see him.
There are only three cast members, Aimee Louise Bevan as Mouse, Alastair Chisholm as all the Predators, Fox, Owl and Snake, and Aaron Dart as the narrator and The Gruffalo. They are all full of energy, filling the stage well and really brought all the characters to life. It was all very engaging, and had us all, both children and adults, joining in with the singing, roaring as loud as we could, pretending to be a Gruffalo. My three loved the interaction.
This show really does bring the book to life. Suitable for 3-7 year olds, it is a perfect introduction to the theatre. It was all such fun.