There’s a Monster in Your Show at Lighthouse Poole Review

DISCLOSURE – TICKETS TO SEE THE SHOW WERE GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER AND GUEST FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW

Reviewed by Lisa

There’s a monster in your show! Heeeeeelp! After reading Tom Fletcher’s book, ‘There’s a monster in your book’, we were excited to find out this was being adapted in to a show! I took my 4 and 8 year old boys to watch this today, and we had an amazing time! From the scenery being simple yet colourful and effective, to the clever way they incorporated the different story books and characters, we were laughing and joining in for the whole time!

As the show started, one of the cast was in the audience interacting with the children and holding up ‘applause’ signs saying, ‘apple sauce’, which started the fun straight away. Once on stage, the story begins with four “story-makers” attempting to create a show, only to be interrupted by a mischievous monster who has escaped from his book. The monster teases them, leading to classic “he’s behind you” moments from the audience that had us laughing hard! As the plot unfolded, the monster is joined by other characters from the book series, including a sassy unicorn (which my daughter would have loved!), a sneezing dragon (who had real smoke coming out of his nose!), and a DJ alien. Together, they embark on an adventure, where the story makers are trying to get them back in to their books, but the characters want to help with the show, causing trouble along the way!

The show was very interactive, with lots of audience participation. They encouraged children to sing, dance, and copy actions, and the songs were memorable (we’re still singing them!). The puppetry is another standout feature, with performers skilfully bringing the characters to life – especially the monster as we loved his voice! The lady in the cast seemed a little unsure on her part at times though and didn’t have quite the same energy as the others.

We saw the show at Poole Lighthouse, which is in a great location with a car park next door and a bus and train station only a few minutes away. The theatre is fairly small and we could see perfectly from our seats about 10 rows back, and every time we have been here it has been welcoming, clean and tidy. It was a shame only about a quarter of the seats were filled today.

The show is directed by Miranda Larson, and it celebrates friendship, imagination, and the joy of reading, and the children seemed engaged from start to finish. The performance lasted for an hour, which is just the right length for this age of children to sit still and stay engaged. Afterwards, there were obviously books on sale as well as other memorabilia.

Overall, There’s a Monster in Your Show is a must-see for families with young children. It brings the magic of Fletcher’s books to life, leaving audiences eager to dive back into the stories, and we had a brilliant time and it seemed that everyone around us felt the same. When I asked my sons which were their favourite bits they said, “All of it!” with big smiles on their faces. I think it is aimed at ages 2-6, but my 8 year old really enjoyed it too. It was well presented, interactive, bright and fun – just what you want for little kids, so I would definitely recommend it!

Rating: 4/5
Running from 8th – 10th April 2025. Tickets cost from £16.50

For more information or to book tickets, please visit www.lighthousepoole.co.uk or ring the box office on 01202 280000.

Poole Lighthouse, 21 Kingland Road, Poole, Dorset, BH15 1UG