Off I went to see the Gruffalo at the Lyric Theatre with my 5 year old daughter and 3 month baby son last Saturday.
From the moment Mouse (Susanna Jennings) came on stage to start her adventure in the dark woods, I was just as captivated as my 5 year old.
The stage was simple so we could concentrate on the colourful characters. Timothy Richey did a wonderful job of portraying the different animals, cunning fox,old eccentric owl and my favourite, trendy, partygoing , glittery snake. He got lots of laughs from adults and children alike.
My daughter’s favourite was sweet, brave mouse followed closely by big, hairy gruffalo,played by the very tall Tom Crook.
The show was a good mix of storytelling,comedy, songs, audience participation and scary fun.
It was just the right length for the little ones. (just under an hour). The children loved participating. My daughter enjoyed growling at Fox, pretending to be Gruffalo. It was a fun , successful outing, with my daughter still talking about the characters days later and saying, “Don’t they know that there is no such thing as a Gruffalo!”
A great introduction to the theatre for little ones. As for my 3 month son, he slept blissfully through the whole play!
