Stick Man at the King’s Hall Ilkley Review
Stick Man
King’s Hall, Ilkley
7 June 2015
Reviewed by Judith Holliday
We had a great time going to see Stick Man at the King’s Hall in Ilkley. The venue itself is full of character, and very well maintained retaining lots of beautiful period features and a warm atmosphere. The staff were friendly and helpful and a small range of drinks and snacks were available to buy alongside Stick Man activity books. The venue has been in use for just over a hundred years, with a light and airy Winter Garden leading into the main auditorium, the King’s Hall where the performance was staged. There are seats in the stalls which are not tiered and some seating on a balcony and in boxes. It is opposite the train and bus stations in Ilkley so ideal for getting there by public transport with a number of shops, cafés and restaurants across the road. There is also plenty of on street parking nearby, some limited to 30 minutes or 2 hours and a public pay and display car park less than a five minute walk away on South Hawksworth Street.
The performance is an adaptation of the popular Stick Man book by Julia Donaldson and tells the story of how Stick Man is separated from his stick family. Thankfully for the young audience they are happily reunited at the end after he experiences a series of adventures with different characters on the way.
Three actors play the different characters with a few costume changes and play a number of different instruments including ukulele and saxophone to great effect. With a playful approach, they engaged well with the audience including times where they stepped off the stage to walk amongst the stalls.
It was fun and silly according to my five year old who would recommend it to others as would I. There was plenty of music and singing and audience participation in the performance which lasted just under an hour with no interval. With seating all on the same level and no booster seats on offer there were times when shorter children might have struggled to see all the action if they were seated behind adults but much of the time the actors were elevated on a platform on the stage and did move around and use the whole stage. We particularly enjoyed the variety of songs and amusing use of props. No scene lasted too long either so there was no time to be bored. There was lots of giggling and laughter as we enjoyed the performance.
We would certainly return and recommend it to others.
Rating: 5/5 
Stick Man is currently on tour around the UK until 2 August 2015, for more information or to book tickets at a venue near you visit www.scamptheatre.com/production/stick-man.
For other shows at the King’s Theatre in Ilkley visit www.bradford-theatres.co.uk.
King’s Hall and Winter Garden. Station Road, Ilkley, LS29 8HB | 01274 432000
