The Gruffalo at St Georges Hall Bradford Review
The Gruffalo
St George’s Hall, Bradford
24-26 April 2014
Reviewed by Pamela Wright.
Today I have been with my 4 year old son to St George’s Hall in Bradford to see the The Gruffalo. This is the first time he has been to see a show so he has been excited about this since I told him. This is the 2nd Julie Donaldson story that I have seen transformed from book to stage performance so I was looking forward to it myself.
We had to make a quick dash for the toilet before we got seated, we went through the bar area to the toilets and I noticed that the tables had crayons and Gruffalo activity / dot to dot / colouring sheets for the children which I thought was a really nice touch. Our seats were in the stalls so we made our way there, as soon as we walked in we could hear the excitement from all the children. My son chose the aisle seat so he had a really good view. There was a nice mix of parents who had taken pre-school children and also some local schools were visiting too.
The cast is made up of 3, 1 woman (who plays the brave mouse) and 2 men (who between them are the storytellers and play the other characters in the show) – my favourite was the cast member who played the story teller/Gruffalo, he was cheeky and mischievous throughout which really amused both me and my son.
The performance follows the book and emphasises the meetings of the mouse with the fox, owl and snake, they used really catchy songs and dancing throughout that the children really enjoyed. They had the children (and some adults including myself) shouting / roaring loudly / laughing and dancing in their seats, they also threw in some humour for the “big people” too.
I could hear lots of children throughout the show asking excitedly when the Gruffalo was coming. When it got to the part in the story when he makes his appearance, it was definitely worth the wait as the children were absolutely hysterical with excitement.
This is a really lovely show for young school / nursery aged children and younger Julia Donaldson fans to go and see, with a running time of 55 minutes it’s an ideal length too. It brings a brilliant children’s storybook to life and completely captivates the children. The costumes are simple and not overly dramatic (with the exception of the Gruffalo who fits his description perfectly).
I would definitely recommend people with younger children to go see this.
Rating: 5/5 
Tickets cost £13 (plus transaction fee).
For more information or to book tickets click here or call the box office on 01274 432000.
St George’s Hall. Bridge St, Bradford, West Yorkshire BD1 1JT | Box Office 01274 432000
