Goldilocks and the 3 Bears at The Drum Theatre Plymouth Review
Goldilocks and the 3 Bears
The Drum Theatre, Plymouth
2 December 2014 to 17 January 2015
Reviewed by Nicola Wilkinson
The Drum Theatre is situated within the Plymouth Theatre Royal which is within the town centre of Plymouth. I drove and parked in the car park next door which is a maximum three hour stay but there is a multi-storey car park behind the theatre which you can pay on exit if you’re unsure how long you require. Upon arriving at the theatre tickets were given with a friendly smile and we were directed to the Drum Theatre clearly. The staff on the door greeted us and gave us an information sheet which included a colouring sheet for my son.
The Drum Theatre is a quirky small theatre and with a cast of only two people, Chanti Hobbit & Helen Day it was the perfect venue for the production of Goldilocks and the 3 Bears. The set design was cleverly done and designed well to make use of the small stage area.
It was a nice surprise to see the baby bear as a puppet, this was something I didn’t expect but the puppet was very popular with the young audience, and fitted in well with both mummy and daddy bear. Goldilocks was played well and the children in the audience responded well with her. I feel the two cast members told the story extremely well but unfortunately the story was told very quickly and I found towards the middle it began to fall a bit flat and it lost the interest of quite a lot of the audience which consisted of two schools. It picked up again towards the end and the cast managed to pull it around and it ended really well and not in the typical way Goldilocks and the 3 Bears usually does. I feel there was a few unnecessary pauses in the production which showed the disadvantage of having two cast members playing four roles as at times it showed they were waiting for each other to get changed.
The production only lasted an hour, but due to it being a children’s performance with two schools present there was a lot of moving around as expected but the theatre staff were on the ball and were helping guide the way to the door and watching people up and down the steep steps using a torch.
Overall I give the performance 3/5. The performance is recommended for children over two but to hold their attention I would say four would be a better age.
Rating: 3/5
Tickets cost from £8.70 to £12.70
Goldilocks and the 3 Bears is at The Drum Theatre in Plymouth until 17 January 2015. For more information or to book tickets click here or call the box office on 01752 267222.
The Drum, Theatre Royal Plymouth, Royal Parade, Plymouth, Devon, PL1 2TR
