Charlie and Lola’s Extremely New Play at the Oxford Playhouse Review
Charlie and Lola’s
Extremely New Play
Oxford Playhouse
21-23 August 2014
Reviewed by Sallie Greenhalgh
I had never been to the Oxford Playhouse before so I was looking forward to exploring a new theatre whereas my 4 year old daughter was somewhat overexcited about the prospect of seeing Charlie and Lola ‘in the flesh’. The play was based on the characters created by Lauren Child and anyone who is familiar with the Charlie and Lola books or the series on CBeebies would feel right at home. The artwork was instantly recognisable and the scene on the stage when we walked into the auditorium was ‘from Charlie and Lola’ according to my daughter – who is quite good at stating the obvious!
From the moment the theme music from the CBeebies show started playing the audience of small people was mesmerised – and to be frank when you consider the number of under 5s in the audience there was almost no extraneous noise or children running around which says a lot about how engaged they were in the show. The characters were portrayed by 2D puppets with puppeteers who were designed to be seen and also formed the ‘stage crew’. I had seen this idea used in other productions and I think it works well as the characters are not frightening and it helps to give the children some idea of how a theatre production works. Fundamentally there were four stories – two either side of the interval which were pulled together by an overarching idea of the changing seasons. Quite by coincidence we had watched two of these on CBeebies this morning but this did not seem to be a concern to my daughter although she has been known to watch the same episode over and over again! All the soundtrack and speech was previously recorded and I assume was the same actors who are used in the series – they certainly sounded the same to me and my daughter.
A couple of other points to note – we took a trip to the toilets before we started and I was pleased to note there were several steps provided for the children to reach the sinks. However to squeeze myself and my daughter into a cubicle was almost impossible and neither of us are large! Booster seats were also available for any children who needed them from the ushers in the auditorium. There was a merchandise stall in the foyer and I had given in and agreed to buy my daughter a couple of items but when I produced my card they said they could only take cash. My bank balance was grateful for this but it did leave my daughter disappointed as we left – I feel there should have been a clear sign if this was the case and then I would have been able to steer clear.
Tickets are not cheap at £13 for an adult and £11 for a child although you can buy a family ticket (2 adults + 2 children) for £44. However, it was really good entertainment and I would thoroughly recommend it.
Rating: 4/5
Tickets cost £13 (adults), £11 (children) and £44 (family – up to 2 adults).
Charlie and Lola’s Extremely New Play is at the Oxford Playhouse until Saturday 23 August 2014. For more information or to book tickets click here or call the box office on 01865 305305.
Oxford Playhouse, Beaumont Street, Oxford, OX1 2LW | 01865 305305
