Reviewed by Louise Styles
The Gruffalo’s Child has arrived at the Wycombe Swan for showings until Wednesday 6th June and is the perfect theatre show for children!
Any parent of a pre-schooler will already be extremely familiar with the Gruffalo and the Gruffalo’s Child books by Julia Donaldson & Axel Scheffler’s and with this live stage version the story really comes to life. Along with my three very excited children we headed into the theatre not sure how the much-loved story would come to life.
The Swan is a fantastic theatre, seating 1076 you’re guaranteed a great view no matter where your seats. My children are all fairly tall but for smaller ones there are booster seats available to hire at family shows and I saw lots of people using the opportunity yesterday. We were seated in the main stalls which is tiered back so the girls could see really well.
The staging of this show is very clever, just two moveable trees and a semi moving back wall make up the set but it’s all they need. The cast of three are energetic and engaging, straight away my girls were laughing at their snowball throwing and ready to see where the story would take them. The costumes in the performance are spot on, not over the top but they personify the animal being portrayed brilliantly; a woolly cardigan with added ‘feathers’ for Owl, a snake skin print shirt for snake and a smart red coat for Fox.
The story was easy to follow but funny in parts and had the audience laughing. My particular favourite was Spanish Snake, but I won’t spoil the fun! There was lots of clapping and audience participation and my girls were very pleased to see their other Donaldson/Scheffler’s favourite Stick Man appear so heavily in the story.
The show lasts 55 minutes with no interval and in an auditorium predominantly full of children it was just the right length of time to hold little ones focus. A really great children’s performance!!
Rating: 5/5
Tickets cost £14 (booking fees may apply).
The Gruffalo’s Child is at the Wycombe Swan from 4-6 June 2018, for more information or to book tickets visit www.wycombeswan.co.uk or call the box office on 01494 512 000.
Wycombe Swan, St. Mary Street, High Wycombe, HP11 2XE | 01494 512 000
