Hetty Feather at the Nuffield Southampton Theatres Review

Reviewed by Emma Booth

Me and my daughter attended the Nuffield Southampton Theatres to see their Christmas show Hetty Feather. Hetty Feather is based on a book by bestselling author Jacqueline Wilson and follows a young girl called Hetty Feather and is set in the Victorian era.

Hetty’s mother gave her up as a baby to a place called the Foundlings, which is run by the stern and mean Matron Stinking Bottomly. Hetty is determined to find her real mother and takes a journey, discovering the harsh streets of London, the thrilling circus and a surprising kind soul in the most unlikely of places. The show tells the story with live music played throughout by two musicians playing upbeat catchy songs which accompany the story perfectly. Hetty Feather has it all; the circus skills and aerial acts are thrilling and really keep the attention of the kids; not once did I have to remind my daughter (age 7) to sit still.

The story is really easy to follow, and you can’t help but to feel for the characters as if they were real and as well as being a sad story of abandonment and a tough upbringing. The story is also full of fun and hopefulness all told with incredible songs that are so much fun and includes so much humour that both adults and children can all find entertaining.

Hetty Feather, played by Phoebe Thomas, was superb and really managed to keep the audience engaged. The show was 2 hours 20 minutes and included a 20 minute interval. I did feel that it was a fairly long show for the kids so probably would be to long for the younger ones. My daughter is 7 and this is probably about the perfect age but there were kids younger and older all of which seemed to thoroughly enjoy the show.

In the interval there’s a chance to buy the Hetty Feather books and after seeing the show my daughter can’t wait to start reading the book.

This was our first visit to this theatre and was only 5 minutes off the M27. We found parking only a few minutes walk away and found the theatre fairly easy. There was a good range of food at very reasonable prices. The auditorium was very comfortable with a good view of the stage.

I would definitely recommend Hetty Feather as a good family theatre show. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit, the show was amazing and whatever your age, you’ll enjoy this.

Rating: 5/5

Tickets cost from £10 to£30 (booking fees may apply).

Hetty Feather is at the Nuffield Southampton Theatres from 21 November 2017 to 7 January 2018, for more information or to book tickets visit www.nstheatres.co.uk or call the box office on 023 8067 1771.

Nuffield Southampton Theatres, University Road, Southampton, SO17 1TR