Reviewed by Louise Watts
There are certain books that as a parent of a small child you just must read. The Tiger Who Came to Tea by Judith Kerr is one of those books. When these books are adapted for stage and quite literally brought to life they add a whole new dimension to the story for the children.
Today, myself and my 3-year-old son went to The Hawth in Crawley and saw The Tiger Who Came to Tea, a musical play based on the book by Judith Kerr. The show has been adapted by David Wood and he has done an absolutely phenomenal job in his adaptation!
The story is based around a family – Mummy, Daddy and Sophie. Just as Sophie is about to have her tea, there is a knock at the door. Much to their amazement there is a tiger standing there who proceeds to enter the house and have tea with Sophie and her Mummy. As all the excitement comes to an end, Daddy comes home from work to be told about this incredible tiger who came for tea.
There was lots of comedy moments that were pitched perfectly for the children in the audience as well as making the adults chuckle! The songs that were used were brilliantly written. They were simple, catchy and repetitive which enabled the kids to learn them quickly and participate when appropriate. There was one particular song about sausages and chips that the audience sang with the cast and this worked really well. There were various elements of audience participation, my favourite being the Tigerrobics!
The costumes were spot on. The tiger was the best costume I think I have ever seen. It truly was believable and his acting was out of this world, particularly the tail wiggle and special walk! Absolutely genius! The set was very clever and had some behind the scenes magic which the children enjoyed. Even the parents were impressed with the magic!
The running time was 55 minutes with no interval and I can honestly say it went too quickly and I was sad to see it end. All the kids in the audience were buzzing at the end saying how amazing it was and there were certainly no adults disagreeing with them!
There was a stall in the foyer selling the book and other merchandise and there were numerous children walking around with their new purchases. The facilities in The Hawth were brilliant as usual with snacks, drinks and helpful staff on hand at all times.
I would thoroughly recommend this to anybody with small children and anybody who has read the book and enjoyed it. The Tiger Who Came To Tea is definitely one of the best (if not the best) children’s musical plays I have seen in a long time! It is currently on tour around the country until the beginning of July, so get yourselves booked in to a theatre near you now!
Fantigertastic!!!
Rating: 5/5
The Tiger Who Came to Tea is currently on tour around the UK, for more information and tour dates visit tigerstealive.com.
For other shows at The Hawth in Crawley visit hawth.co.uk.
The Hawth, Hawth Avenue, Crawley, Sussex, RH10 6YZ | 01293 553636
