Winnie the Pooh was reviewed at the Riverside Studios, London (playing until 21 May 2023). The tour continues until 2 September 2023.
Star rating: two stars ★ ★ ✩ ✩ ✩
Deep in the Hundred Acre Wood was nostalgically tipped, but failed in a medley of wandering storylines never quite gelling. My six year old spent a lot of time mesmerised by the leaves that fell, and the snow that blew – very clever theatre tricks that delighted the audience, but alas didn’t add much to the general feeling of what is this? Are my kids going to make it to the end without exploding out of the aisles into the foyer?
Rockefeller Productions, in partnership with ROYO and in association with Disney Theatrical Productions have created a beautiful, dappled in luminous light, stage which my son and I marvelled at as we sat in wait for the show to start. The atmosphere, the visuals are straight out of the A.A. Milne book, and when the stage awakens so does the transportation into Hundred Acre Wood.
The challenge of re-imagining Disney’s classic by bringing it to life on stage in puppet form is met with huge cuddly (adult sized) puppets, which the kids love. However, I found it difficult to settle my vision on the toys as the facial expressions of the actors were so overly emphasised, a distraction which my son didn’t obviously notice. Alex Cardall’s annunciation and presence are magnificent as he swaps between Eeyore, Rabbit and Owl.
Jake Bazel (Pooh), Robbie Noonan (Tigger), Lottie Grogan (Piglet/Roo), Chloe Gentles (Kanga) and Oliver Ravelini (Christopher Robin) are perfectly full of smiles and kiddie gentleness, but the plot which rambles and never really joins together isn’t given any extra oomph by the script, which lacks any excitement, indeed humour, which we all know kids adore. Nate Edmondson scores the show, but again no bounce in catchy pieces is provided, the instant kiddie crowd-pleasers, and yet my son’s ears perked up when the Grammy Award-winning songs ‘Winnie the Pooh’ and ‘The Wonderful Thing About Tigger’s played.
Winnie the Pooh is one of the most successful franchises in history, but I can’t help be disappointed by this production. It’s a beautiful visual adaptation but it needs some kiddie tweaks.
Laura-Jane Wareing
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