Seat: Stalls, X19 | Show: Tuesday 25th July 1pm
After a successful run in the US and then at London’s Riverside Studios, Winnie the Pooh and friends are touring round the UK to share their adventures with families all over the country.
Winnie the Pooh takes stories and songs from the Disney cartoons and puts them onstage in an hour-long show that goes through the changing seasons that hit all the hallmarks of your favourite Pooh stories. While this show is primarily catered to young children, I think that anyone who loves Pooh and his friends will have a great time.
When Christopher Robin goes off to school, Pooh is left to search for honey all over the Hundred Acre Woods and runs into Piglet, Tigger, Eeyore, Owl, Rabbit, Kanga and Roo. Each season focuses on a different plot that you may remember, like Pooh’s escapades stuck in a hole and Roo’s attempt at the Whoopty-Dooper-Loopty-Looper-Alley-Ooper bounce.
Because of its younger demographic, the story doesn’t touch too much on sadness, but there is a sense of melancholy with Pooh’s love for his human friend. I do think having a bit more substance in the plot wouldn’t take away any of the understanding for kids as the Disney cartoons achieve this well. However, this isn’t something that is a huge issue in the show and I think it’s wonderful nonetheless.
The scenic design, done by Jack Golden, has a beautiful painted quality that harkens back to the original animations and, paired with the lighting design (by Charlie Morrison), the changing of the seasons works so seamlessly. The set is so beautiful to look at and there are lots of little details that make it feel even more magical.
These lovable characters are represented through incredibly well-crafted puppets brought to life by incredibly talented performers. Created by the Rocketeers (the lead puppet designers at Rockefeller Studios), the puppets are a mixture of the Disney designs, E.H. Shephard’s original illustrations and the real-life teddies which is a lovely tribute to the past iterations of the characters. They are so captivating to look at and the impressive performances by their puppeteers means that you can become so easily lost in the animal characters. This is helped by the costume design, done by Lindsay McWilliams who has carefully dressed the performers with subtle hints to their characters as well as dressing them in cooler colours so that our eyes are drawn to the colourful puppets and set. Another reason they are dressed in painter-like overalls is because they are the “painters of Christopher Robin’s imagination”, which is a wonderful touch that is so nice to read about in the show’s storybook programme.
The performers in this show rotate which characters they play in each show (except Benjamin Durham as Pooh), which by itself is an amazing feat, especially due to their exceptional voice acting that perfectly matches their characters. At the performance I was at, Lottie Grogan played Piglet and Roo, Harry Boyd played Tigger, Alex Cardall played Eeyore, Owl and Rabbit(!) and Chloe Gentles played Kanga and Owl (wings) - they all also did additional puppeteering as woodland creatures which really brought the environment to life. All of these performers were so lively and embodied the characters we all know and love in both voice and body. I wanted to specially mention Alex Cardall, because of the multiple characters he played so well that you forget that it’s the same person, and Harry Boyd due to Tigger’s very hyper and bouncy movements and songs.
Speaking of the songs, the music throughout the show was very nostalgic to hear, but the majority weren’t too memorable other than Tigger’s 2 songs and the original Winnie the Pooh theme. While the show describes itself as a musical, I wouldn’t necessarily categorise it as such, more so a play with music but it’s lovely to hear the music (directed by Nate Edmondson) underscoring throughout.
I greatly enjoyed the show, even if I wasn’t its target demographic, and I’m sure others will too – but they should be mindful that their theatregoing experience probably won’t be what they’re used to. I saw the show at 1pm on a half term week so the theatre was filled with young children and toddlers. Of course, when it comes to young children, all theatre etiquette goes out the window but it’s great to see them engrossed in the magic unfolding onstage. Because the show doesn’t have much depth, slightly older children may get a bit bored or restless at times, but this didn’t seem to be much of a problem at the performance I was at, and the show’s short runtime helps to combat this.
This may be different at each venue, but due to the nature of the audience, people were allowed to leave the auditorium and come back in without issue. I would just suggest that people outside of the target demographic be aware of this and that it might affect their experience of the show slightly. As someone with auditory processing issues and autism, I found it difficult at times to hear what was happening onstage due to the sounds children were making around me, which was a little bit overwhelming but overall, I appreciated the visuals most anyways.
One of the main selling points for me, other than the fact that I’m a Winnie the Pooh fanatic, was the great merchandise that they had for sale. This production offers audiences the chance to buy their own plush versions of the characters Pooh, Piglet, Tigger and Eeyore resembling the puppets – I personally have a bit of an obsession with Winnie the Pooh plushies so there was no way these weren’t going to be added to my collection. They also sell T-shirts and tote bags along with a storybook in lieu of a programme. The storybook is such a wonderful idea, which provides insight into the creative process and how the wonderful visuals came together. It also tells the story of the show that can be read to children later, and overall, it’s just a lovely little keepsake.
I think this show is a great one for all ages, particularly younger children or Winnie the Pooh lovers. There are still a few venues left on its tour so if it’s anywhere near you, make sure to check it out: https://winniethepoohshow.co.uk
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