The Lowry, Manchester – 6 January 2019
Reviewed by Carla Whittaker
4****
Wow, what an amazing show, the fastest 55 minutes! Me and My son were lucky enough to be able to go and watch The Stick Man live based upon the bestselling Julia Donaldson and Axel Schefflers children’s book. It was the perfect opportunity to get into the Christmas spirit, and The Stick Man did that! The Stick Man follows the story of Stick Man who lives in the family tree with his Stick Lady Love and there three stick children. Stick Man went for a jog which sees the unlucky Stick Man go from one calamity to another. A dog wants to chew him, a girl wants to play with him, a swan builds a nest with him, he goes off into the sea and he ends up on a fire until Father Christmas and the reindeer help him to get home to the family tree much to the love of his Stick Lady Love and the three stick children.
The three actors were fantastic, which was important given the simple yet effective set as they went from one character and costume to another, in between one of the actors going off to play a variety of catchy instruments. I was very impressed, the actors encouraged audience participation, and captivated the young children with their boundless energy and enthusiasm in addition to the jokes aimed at grown-ups; which could be heard laughing and chuckling away.
It is a feel good, minimalistic, colourful production with projections, puppetry, plenty of audience participation and is jam packed with joyful, Christmassy, catchy songs and music beautifully composed on stage. A thoroughly enjoyable, original and funny show for family theatre goers which I would highly recommend!