Review: The Gruffalo at the Lyric Theatre

The Gruffalo 

Lyric Theatre

Reviewed on 23rd November 2013

A mouse took a stroll through the deep dark wood... Silly predators, don't they know - there's no such thing as a Gruffalo! Or is there...

Originally published in 1999, Julia Donaldson's book has sold over 10.5 million copies worldwide and is a favourite with children and adults of all ages. I'm one of many people who can quote the entire story of a the Gruffalo so, with a five-year-old (who also knows all the words) in tow, I arrived at the Lyric, keen to see how the story would work as live theatre.

In just under an hour the story of The Gruffalo is brought to life with simple songs and dances that the children love. The set is simple, with just a few trees adorning the stage and a small cast of three. Susanna Jennings in pink converses and gloves is suitably cute as Mouse, while Tom Crook prances about the stage until his time comes to don the Gruffalo costume.

Meanwhile Timothy Richey takes on the roles of all three predators, looking particularly dapper in his gold sequinned bolero and bandana as Snake. His characterisation of each character is good, particularly regimental Owl complete with flying goggles.

Audience participation is, of course, mandatory and five-year-old Henry's favourite part was "when we all scared the fox by pretending to be a Gruffalo and growling". Although most of those under age 4 spent more time looking at the rest of the audience, the older children were completely engrossed and giggling from start to finish.

At times I thought the characters could have enunciated more and dropped fewer 'Ts', as some of the speaking wasn't as clear as it needed to be considering small children make up the majority of the audience. Yet it was still a magical production, enjoyed by everyone in the theatre and Henry "really liked all of it because it was really good and funny".

Reviewed by Michaela Clement-Hayes
michaela@westendframe.com

The Gruffalo runs at the Lyric Theatre until 12th January 2014.
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