The Gruffalo, tells the story of a little mouse in search of a precious nut in a deep, dark would this is a bouncy and lively adaptation of the Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler picture book which is now a classic in every child of the noughties home.

On her quest for food poor little mouse crosses paths with a wily Fox, blundering Air Sergeant Major Owl and a vain Mexican dancing Snake who are all determined to gobble her up but she cleverly manages to escape their clutches by telling them of the terrible Gruffalo, who as every child knows has terrible tusks and terrible claws, and terrible teeth in its terrible jaws.

The movement work and choreography is inventive and clever, with clear attention to detail in creating the animals which is lovely to watch and is aided by some great vocal sound effects. Real praise must go to Naomi Said, Napoleon Ryan and Alan Park who have more energy than you can shake a very large stick at and throw open the chance for the children to interact with the show. The audience willingly jump at the chance but not always with the expected results, keeping the cast firmly on their toes.

It would have been nice to see a brighter and bolder design to fit in with with Scheffler’s wonderful illustrations but the big personalities of the characters more than makes up for this and the show will certainly prove a great treat for young people over the Christmas period.

For all those Gruffalo lovers out there the festive season holds another treat in store, The Gruffalo will arrive on our TV screens on BBC One on the 24th December in a 30-minute animated film featuring an all-star voice cast. Including Robbie Coltrane as The Gruffalo, Helena Bonham Carter as the narrator, Rob Brydon as the Snake, James Corden as the Mouse, John Hurt as the Owl and Tom Wilkinson as the Fox. It is produced by Magic Light Pictures.

Address: Apollo Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue, London, W1D 7EZ
Website: http://www.nimaxtheatres.com/
Phone: 0844 579 1971