Silly old fox. Doesn't he know? The Gruffalo has become a live theatre show...
Anyone in the UK who has had kids in the last twenty years will know of The Gruffalo. Originally published in 1999, it’s a simple 700-word children’s book that shot it’s author Julia Donaldson into Roald Dahl levels of popularity in the early 2000s. Only her second book, she has since followed it up with dozens more classics and become a national institution.
The tale itself features a mouse, the main protagonist, who invents a hyperbolic animal known as a ‘Gruffalo’ to avoid being eaten by a series of other woodland creatures. However, in second half of the story this imaginary animal comes to life and also tries to eat the mouse, leading to a battle of wits and terror between them.
The book and it’s sequel have been licensed for two BBC animated films (which I’d be surprised if anyone reading this hasn’t seen), theme parks, statues and just about every kind of item that a child might ask their parent’s for.
This play, by the Islington based theatre company Tall Stories, takes the main story and adapts it for the stage. It stars Elouise Warboys (as the mouse), Cameron Baker-Stewart (Gruffalo) and Kemi Clarke (fox, owl and snake). All three of them are excellent and endearing, but if you’re coming in expecting masks, puppets or indeed particularly elaborate animal costumes then don’t. It’s a bit more subtle than that and the costumes are actually carefully chosen clothes accessorised with tails, wings and headgear. The actors faces are clearly on show at all times, a touch which I really liked; it's a good way to introduce children to the joys of the theatre and acting and makes it feel less like an Alton Towers meet and greet.
It's very well put together, with a few new musical numbers conceived and added to pad out a story that if it stuck too faithfully to the original would be over in under ten minutes. Instead over 55 minutes we get a much greater sense of the woodland environment (helped by excellent set design), some fun play between the characters and quite a bit of clowning and crowd interaction.
I took along my three-year-old daughter and she completely loved it, her little face beaming with excitement throughout. Admittedly she started to wince towards the end, but this was due to downing her Fruit Shoot within the first ten minutes and not wanting to leave until the end curtains. If we did ratings, this adaptation would get five purple prickles out of five.
The Gruffalo is showing at Theatre Royal Nottingham until Sunday 17 November 2024.
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