Ellie Bell, Timothy Richey and Owen Guerin (as The Gruffalo) in The Gruffalo at the Lyric Theatre
The Gruffalo continues at the Lyric Theatre, London, until 6 September, then on tour.
Rating: 4 stars ★ ★ ★ ★
It was scary (but not very scary because this shaggy-haired Gruffalo was too cuddly to frighten my little brother Ollie and me) and great fun, all the more fun because we know this much-loved story so well.
The book by Julia Donaldson with those wonderful illustrations by Axel Scheffler isn’t on every young person’s must-read list for nothing and at the lovely Lyric we were also able to take our love of it further through the music and songs added by Jon Fiber and Andy Shaw.
They were all so tuneful, and the cast of Ellie Bell as the Mouse, Owen Guerin as the strange-looking Gruffalo, and Timothy Richey, snaky-hipped as the Snake, eccentric as the old Owl and sly as Fox, delivered them with gusto.
The simple story of a Mouse trying to stay uneaten (or turned into Mouse-aka, tira-Mouse-u or even bubble and squeak, we had to laugh at that) as he journeys through a deep, dark wood can be followed by all little people.
Ollie isn’t five yet, but judging from the way everybody joined in with answering-back bits and hollering in all the right places, you didn’t even have to be as old as that to have a great time. And at 55 minutes it’s just the right length, as I noticed one or two of the younger ones getting a little restless towards the end. But those were VERY young.
My Mum has sat through a few Gruffalos, but says this was the best. This year there was a brand-new set and new costumes, which has made it fresh and even more exciting.
I’m told it’s been going as a stage musical for 14 years now and I hope it never ends so that I can take my kids to see it when I’m bigger.
We owe much to Olivia Jacobs and Toby Mitchell, the directors from Tall Stories who have been involved in the project since obtaining permission from the author to adapt her magical story.
It has made so many tiny people very happy – and I mean a lot. Grandad says more than a million people around the world have been enchanted by it. Now there will be a whole lot more.
Scarlett Maxwell (aged 8)
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