A trip to the Deep Dark Wood
Last weekend E and I had a lovely pre-Christmas treat, a trip with some fellow bloggers to see The Gruffalo’s Child at Birmingham’s Town Hall. The Gruffalo’s Child is one of the many Julia Donaldson books the boys have enjoyed over the last few years so I knew it would be a hit with E but was intrigued to see how the beautifully illustrated tale would be brought to life on the stage.
The set was great, simple but cleverly moved throughout the play to give a sense of the journey into the deep dark wood via the homes of all the characters, the costumes we’re really well conceived and the songs were catchy and timed to keep the interest of even the youngest members of the audience.
The booking information recommended the play for the 3+ age group I think a lot of two year olds would be absorbed enough to make it through the 55 minute running time and you can rent a booster seat if you are worried about their view. There were certainly many little ones at the performance we went to and, as with anything aimed at young children, no one was expecting them to sit silently. In fact at several points they are encouraged to join in.
The whole show is performed by only three people, one Gruffalo’s child, one Mouse who acts as the narrator and one (very busy) guy who, as well as playing the Gruffalo, undoubtedly stole the show switching between the snake (possibly Bruno Tonioli’s spanish cousin), owl (imagine Matt Smith’s Dr Who in feathers) and fox (Del Boy in his prime).
E absolutely loved it and we’ll definitely be going to this sort of production again. You can still get tickets for The Gruffalo’s Child which runs until 16th January in Birmingham or you can book ahead for performances like ‘We’re all going on a bear hunt’ (April), ‘Spot the dog’ (May) or next years Christmas treat ‘What the lady beard heard’, another Julia Donaldson story.
You can find some of the other blogger’s reviews here:
[Disclosure: The Town Hall kindly gave us some tickets for the show although so many of us wanted to go we actually ended up buying several more ourselves. All views as ever are my own.]
lol, that’s how I described the fox to my other half, Del Boy in his prime
Thanks again for arranging this Cat x Happy New Year
ooops, forgot my sister-in-law had been using my lap top, above comment is mine really
You’re more than welcome, thanks for coming along. I’m glad everyone had such a nice time.
It was brilliant! Thanks for organising!
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