Humour in LBT children’s show

Dec 17 2008 by Hilarie Stelfox, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

This year’s Christmas show for children at the Lawrence Batley Theatre is a stage adaptation of the best-selling illustrated storybook The Gruffalo’s Child. HILARIE STELFOX, veteran of many a children’s show and pantomime, went along to review the opening performance

THERE comes a time in every parent’s life when they realise they’ve seen their last children’s theatre show, bought their last choc ice and shouted “He’s behind you’’ for the last time.

Part of me is actually quite relieved that I have reached this happy state of affairs.

I’ve done my time in the theatre stalls, and it has to be said that not all of the live festive entertainment aimed at the very young is as entertaining as it should be.

A round of ice creams and Maltesers, demanded with menace at the interval, on top of pricey theatre tickets, make for an expensive outing at an expensive time of year.

But I’m being churlish, because if it’s done well there’s nothing quite as magical as a live theatrical performance.

For many children a Christmas show is their introduction to this extraordinary world of make-believe.

Huddersfield’s Lawrence Batley Theatre has always staged festive children’s shows rather than pantomimes.

For many years when the Offspring were small I took them along to review a number of opening performances – all the better to gauge whether the writers and performers were hitting the spot.

Sometimes they did, occasionally they did not.

Unfortunately, after one memorable (for the wrong reasons) performance of a play, in which a leading character spoke in Portuguese to a mystified audience, I had to bribe the Offspring to get them to even contemplate visiting the theatre again.

But enough of the past.

This year’s show is an adaptation of the modern children’s classic story, The Gruffalo’s Child, sequel to the best-selling Gruffalo, penned by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Sheffler.

It has a solid pedigree. The Gruffalo has sold 1m copies worldwide and lends itself well to a theatrical adaptation as it is written in rhyme.

The production by the Tall Stories Theatre Company comes from a tried and tested formula – this is the company behind the original Gruffalo show.

Aimed at children over the age of three, I’d say that there is most definitely an upper age limit on the appeal of the Gruffalo.

If the storybook no longer fascinates then your children are too old for the stage show.

The schools’ performance I attended this week, for infants and young juniors, was well received and it was clear that many children knew of the story book.

This is no mean feat given that theatre companies today find themselves in the business of entertaining DVD-generation children with an attention span eroded by computer games and digitally-enhanced all-action movies.

In fact, the small but talented cast of just three, Stuart Slavicky, Lesley Cook and Marie Therese Devine, managed to inject enthusiasm, energy and a certain humour into what is essentially quite a repetitive story of the kind enjoyed by the very young.

Don’t expect a lot of scene changes or anything much in the way of exciting props. This is a minimally-produced and simple show lasting less than an hour.

It comes, however, with a couple of catchy little songs and the usual much-appreciated audience participation.

For this year’s festive audiences there is the bonus of a ‘warm-up’ act before the main show. Comic duo Winter Vagabonds provided half an hour of music, gags and gentle slapstick, which definitely hit the right spot.

I suspect that many of the adults in the audience enjoyed the Vagabonds as much, if not more, than the Gruffalo’s Child.

So this could be one of those years when there is, quite literally, something for all the family at the LBT.

The Gruffalo’s Child runs until Saturday, December 20, with tickets at £10 and £8. Box office 01484 430528.