Babe, The Sheep-Pig at the Orchard Theatre Dartford Review
Reviewed by Louise Watts
I had the pleasure of seeing Babe, The Sheep-Pig yesterday (25 May 2017) with my 8-year-old daughter and my 2-year-old, animal obsessed son. I remember buying Babe, The Sheep-Pig on DVD as a teenager and thinking the story was lovely. The DVD and now the stage production are based on the book by Dick King-Smith which won the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize in 1984. This has been adapted for stage by David Wood.
The story is delightful and very appealing to children and the adaptation to stage retains all the lovely parts from the book and film. The story revolves around a pig named “Babe” by his friends and “Pig” by his owner, farmer Hogget. When he arrives at the Hogget farm, he is “adopted” by Fly the sheep-dog. He soon decides he wants to be a sheep pig (dog) and starts trying his hardest to win over the other animals in this quest. Will he be successful or not? Can a pig really do the job of a sheep dog??
The set was perfect and set the scene on the farm and at the sheep dog trials. It was very realistic and the kids thought it really was on the farm! Babe and some of the other smaller animals were puppets and by saying how wonderful they are gives credit to the puppeteers as they are the people that make them work. The puppets were so good that at one point my 8-year-old asked me if the pig was real! It doesn’t get any better than that.
The story was an absolute delight and told perfectly through the acting and the puppets. The songs were well written and fit the story to perfection. They had the children’s attention throughout the whole performance and there did not appear to be any restless children in the audience. The show lasted for approximately 1½ hours including a 20-minute interval.
Special credit must be given to Nicola Blackman as “Fly” the sheep dog as her performance was so good I began to believe she actually was a dog!
The theatre itself was lovely. The staff as always were friendly and helpful. The theatre offers a variety of refreshments with both a bar, a snack bar with coffee facilities and there was also a souvenir shop with lots of souvenirs at a fair price. Parking was easy in the local shopping centre car park and was cheap at £1.50 for nearly 3 hours parking.
This show is marketed for 5–11 year olds but I would say it is also suitable for the younger, pre-school audience too. My son is nearly 3 years old and was captivated by the performance throughout. We all had a thoroughly enjoyable evening and I would not hesitate to recommend this show to anyone with young children. It was an absolute pleasure to watch and the puppetry is nothing short of sheer brilliance. An absolutely perfect family evening at the theatre.
Rating: 5/5
Tickets cost from £19.50 to £33.50 (booking fees may apply).
Babe, The Sheep-Pig is at the Orchard Theatre in Dartford from 25-28 May 2017, for more information or to book tickets visit orchardtheatre.co.uk or call the box office on 01322 220000.
The Orchard Theatre, Home Gardens, Dartford, DA1 1ED | 01322 220000
