The Adventure at the Lyric Hammersmith Review
The Adventure
Lyric Hammersmith
23 May to 6 June 2015
Reviewed by Tricia Shaw
The Adventure is an interactive mystery for children aged 7-13 years old, written by Oliver Birch and created by Bad Physics in association with Richard Jordan Productions.
Unsure what to expect, we arrived at the Lyric Theatre in Hammersmith and headed to the box office to collect our tickets. This was our first time visiting the Lyric and it was easy to find when we came out of the tube station. There is a lovely café and a very pretty roof top garden.
The staff were friendly and chatted happily to the children while we waited in the foyer for the production to begin. Unlike your usual theatre performance we didn’t go into the auditorium but instead our group (made up of about 8 children and a number of adults) headed round to the stage door. Here we were met by Mr Wren, a storyteller clown, who invited us in and began to relate his tale. The children were immediately involved answering questions and volunteering to help out with the action.
Suddenly the storytelling was interrupted by three “kids” asking for our help to find their dad who had been abducted. They needed assistance to decipher the clues to find him and the children willingly joined in.
First clue solved, they were eager to follow the trail to the next one. There was plenty for everyone to do to help crack the clues and in no time at all we had succeeded in our task.
The atmosphere was intense and the children experienced a variety of emotions throughout; at one point in the dark I could feel little hands holding onto me very tightly! My son, aged 7, and daughter, aged 10, really enjoyed it and kept talking about different aspects of the production all afternoon.
“I loved searching in all the boxes and working out what the clues meant.” (James)
“I enjoyed helping them with the clues and being backstage.” (Amy)
As for myself: It was a good hour’s entertainment and I loved the concept although I felt the ending was a little abrupt. They made good use of a small area and the actors worked well with the children guiding them through the different areas and offering help as it was needed.
If you are looking for something for the kids to do this holiday then I would recommend it. There are 3 performances every day and it runs until Saturday 6th June.
Rating: 4/5
Tickets are priced at £12 for adults and £10 for children.
The Adventure is at the Lyric Hammersmith until 6 June 2015. For more information or to book tickets visit www.lyric.co.uk or call the box office on 020 8741 6850.
Lyric Hammersmith, Lyric Square, King St, London W6 0QL | 020 8741 6850