By
John Jeffay
1 min read
"A mouse took a stroll through the deep dark wood…"
There cannot be many parents with young kids who do not recognise that opening line, and most can chant the rest of the story in their sleep.
A plucky little mouse scares off would-be predators with tales of a terrible, though imaginary, monster - the Gruffalo - in Julie Donaldson's 1999 masterpiece. Our copy bears the scars of countless bedtime readings.
So would the leap from page to stage live up to expectations?
Well, the disappointing truth is that five minutes of text really does not stretch to almost an hour of action.
The charm of the book is its rattling pace, its infectious rhyme, its brilliant illustrations and the comic tension between resourceful rodent and dim-witted monster.
All of this, and more, is lost on stage. Instead it lumbers along, padded shamelessly with unremarkable song and dance, bland costumes and laboured dialogue that fail to raise a laugh from adults and children alike. Tedious exchanges fill the gaps between the good - ie: favourite lines from the book - bits.
The crowd of excitable children roared "Grrr" when encouraged to do so, and showed some enthusiasm for a couple of the catchier tunes. But that is not saying much. They knew the book inside out and were desperate to shout "Grrr". The dialogue left them cold and rarely have I seen a show peter out with such an indifferent finale.
"Has it finished, mummy?" a small child asked in the row behind me as the lights came up.
To fill time, the three animals with an appetite for mouse are given little song and dance routines. The owl is cast as a fighter pilot, and goes off on tangents way above the head of most seven-year-olds. The fox wears a tweed jacket and cap, the snake has a glittery gold jacket and hat.
The Gruffalo himself (Scott Armstrong) bounces on stage looking like a fat man dressed as a tree, with a pair of horns. The fact that the Gruffalo is real - not just a figment of mouse's imagination - is the beautifully crafted denouement of the book. On stage it is lost entirely.
The mouse, played by Alex Tregear with nothing more than a tail for a costume, is supposed to be living on her wits. But when she asks the audience: "About that nut, which way should I go now?" I thought: "Try the stage door".
The kids chatted, fidgeted, ate, drank, cried and drifted off, joining in only when the action veered, thankfully, back in the direction of the book.
Having seen the show, I would highly recommend the book.