There’s a Monster in Your Show – Purcell Room, Southbank Centre and Touring

There’s a Monster in Your Show was reviewed at the Purcell Room, Southbank Centre. The tour continues until 24 December 2024.

Star rating: three stars ★ ★ ★ ✩ ✩

This decent little show for preschoolers (adapted by Zoe Bourn from the books by Tom Fletcher, with music by Fletcher, Barry Bignold and Miranda Lawson, who also directs) kept everyone in the room engaged at the performance I saw and some of the audience members were at least three years away from starting school.

One character is trying to stage a show against Laura McEwen’s colourful set of squares, boxes and shelves in primary colours and pastels.

The show is jinxed by the arrival of a round blue monster – soon joined by a green dinosaur, a yellow alien and a pink unicorn with light-up hooves, all of whom make gentle mischief.

These characters have hopped out of the books wherein they will be familiar to many of the audience. The puppets are recognisably modelled on the illustrations and the puppet handling is reasonably entertaining.

Eventually, of course, order is restored and, as most stories for young children do, it becomes a warm celebration of friendship and collaboration. And the escapees return to their books, otherwise “we” won’t be able to read their stories when we get home.

The 50-minute piece is lively and energetic with lots of exaggerated mime. The music is cheerful and, as it has to be, the diction incisively clear.

The cast is pretty good, with especially noteworthy performances from Gil Sidaway and Charlie Daniells. Sidaway has a carefully honed look of boyish disappointment and his sweet singing voice is very pleasing particularly in ‘Would You Like To Hear a Story?’ which is reprised.

Daniells puppets and voices a prima donna-ish, bottom-waggling unicorn wanting to sing a solo and that’s quite fun.

I was pleased to note that this performance was fully and engagingly signed from stage left.

Susan Elkin