Review: The Gruffalo at Northern Stage

“…absolutely loved it…pure ecstatic joy…”

The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson, Northern Stage, Newcastle

By Melina Turner-Deeks

The Gruffalo is a much-loved centrepiece of most children’s bookshelves, and the Tall Stories production at Northern Stage in Newcastle really brought it to life!

Northern Stage was as welcoming as ever, with friendly staff and a café stocked with juice cartons and colouring for the kids, and coffee and cake for the adults. The plush, luxurious seats of the performance space are an added bonus.

The set design (by Isla Shaw) immediately whisks the audience into the heart of the deep dark wood, complete with movable trees that conceal all sorts of animal hidey-holes. A particular highlight of the forest was Owl’s hollow tree, complete with all the home comforts an eccentric old owl might need.

The plot follows the perilous journey of a brave and clever mouse through the deep, dark wood as she meets a variety of woodland creatures who want to gobble her up. Luckily, she is imaginative and quickly invents a terrible monster “with terrible tusks and terrible claws” who is just as intent on making on meal of her predators! The twist arises when Mouse (Eloise Warboys) runs right into the Gruffalo (David Scotland) himself. Warboys, as Mouse, was excellently engaging the entire way through and really made us root for her to succeed.

Gentle acoustic guitar music created a calming atmosphere as the auditorium filled with Gruffalo-clad preschoolers, their excitement palpable and tinged with a hint of apprehension in the younger children. Any worries were washed away by the enthusiasm and energy of the three narrators as they arrived onstage and straight away involved the kids in some audience participation, which left the children roaring with excitement. The only criticism of the show was that it did seem a little long and, with the added material, the lines of the original didn’t get the attention they deserved.

The production team used clever costumes (involving fold-out ears and pull-out tails) to magically transform the original narrators into the characters of the book. Kemi Clark managed to masterfully play Fox, Owl and Snake by using a variety of costumes, hairstyles and well-executed accents. Although not particularly serpentine, the appearance of a ‘disco’ rendition of Snake was an unexpected pinnacle of the performance – for both myself and my children. However, as much as the kids loved David Scotland’s presence as the Gruffalo, from an adult’s perspective, I felt myself feeling that the Gruffalo costume fell short of expectations.

A small warning for anyone with younger, or more timid theatre-goers: the Gruffalo makes a run for the audience in a fourth-wall-smashing finale. While thrilling for most kids, anyone with nervous or very young children might benefit from seats at the back or middle. Overall, the show was excellent at downplaying any of the scarier aspects involved with a ‘monster’ story. The performance was peppered with songs (by Jolly Good Tunes) that the kids loved and really helped to keep the mood elevated.

I brought along my kids (aged two and four) as proverbial canaries in the mines, and it is fair to say that they absolutely loved it! The things that I might pick holes in faded into oblivion in the face of their pure ecstatic joy. The lines from the original book (by national treasure, Julia Donaldson) made them giddy with excitement, as did the opportunity to roar and shout as loud as they wanted.

The Gruffalo plays at Northern Stage until Friday 25 April. Tickets are available here.

Melina Turner-Deeks is a poet and self-confessed literature nerd. She currently runs literary workshops and bookclubs in North Tyneside as The Literature Lass. When she is not baking, parenting or reading, she loves being outdoors and connecting with nature. Find her on Instagram here or Facebook here.