Elmer the Patchwork Elephant at the Parr Hall Warrington Review
Reviewed by Kathryn Harrison
Yesterday afternoon I visited the Parr Hall in Warrington with my husband and our two daughters, aged six and two, to watch Elmer the Patchwork Elephant. Elmer is a classic childrens story that is celebrating its 30th birthday this year.
Parr Hall is a great venue in Warrington town centre with good transport links, both bus and rail as well as lots of parking nearby. Although it’s worth noting there is limited parking in the theatre car park but there are many other car parks close by.
The show told the story of how Elmer the elephant is different to all the other elephants in the herd, he is the only patchwork colour elephant whereas all the other elephants are grey. Elmer sets out on a quest to find out where he belongs, meeting lots of other animals along the way, including birds, frogs, monkeys, zebras, a giraffe and a lion. All these animals were brought wonderfully to life by four talented puppeteers through twenty one enchanting puppets. The puppets and the set were bright, colourful and interesting to look at. Throughout the show there were lots of songs and music to keep the audience entertained. At just forty five minutes long, with no interval, it wasn’t too long for a children’s show however I did notice that a lot of the children seemed quite restless, including my own, more than I’ve noticed at other children’s shows of similar lengths. I’m not sure why the audience didn’t engage with this show as much as at other children’s shows I’ve seen at Parr Hall, this show perhaps wasn’t as interactive, with very little audience participation, so it could have been that or it could have just been that particular audience.
My husband I found this show very pleasant as did my older daughter, my two year old lost interest after about twenty minutes however, despite this it was still a charming show and a really lovely way to spend Mother’s Day afternoon.
Rating: 3/5
For other shows at the Parr Hall in Warrington visit parrhall.culturewarrington.org or call the box office on 01925 442884.
Pyramid & Parr Hall, Cultural Quarter, Palmyra Square South, Warrington, WA1 1BL
