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Muddy puddling good fun
Peppa Pig’s Big Splash New Alexandra Theatre **** I HAVE a soft spot for the flurry of
childrens’ TV shows cashing in on their popularity with a stage version
tour. They might be designed to entertain, and let us
be honest, sell merchandise, DVDs, apps and even a Peppa Theme Park in
the case, but behind all that is something much more fundamental and
much more valuable – an introduction to theatre. Children born into a world of computer games,
tablets, apps and DVDs are given the chance to enter into a different
domain, a realm of magic and imagination where there is no CGI or HD
screens, just real people on a stage and the only processing power
needed is in the heads of the audience. Introduce children young to something they want
to see and enjoy and hopefully they will be hooked for life – or at
least enough will remember and one day become regulars to help keep
theatre alive. This show dispenses with actors in huge foam
suits miming to a recorded soundtrack in favour of puppets held by
actors/puppeteers much in the style of Avenue Q with only the rather
large Mr Potato (Ryan Kirwan) in the padded suit. Mr Potatoes solo, a fruity calypso with singing
oranges and melons was perhaps the least successful section of the show.
The audience had come to see Peppa Pig and friends not a singing
greengrocers so despite a lively song, the fidgeting and chattering went
up a notch – pre-school children can be hard critics. A new character is introduced in the form of
Daisy, who is a sort of . . . well human, played with an
infectious enthusiasm by Emma Grace Arends. She acts as the narrator
introducing the cast of the popular TV series and driving the story
along. All the regular characters are there with
Victoria Corlass or understudy Lindsay Harding as Mummy Pig, Kerry
Gooderson or Evie James as Peppa, Eva James or Lindsay Harding as Suzy
Sheep, David Sandham as Daddy Pig and Luke Spencer as Peppa’s younger
brother George.
The stories are simple, hide and seek, a lost
dinosaur, a leaking roof in the play school, a childrens’ fete to pay
for a new roof from Mr Bull (David Sandham again) and a puddle jumping
world championship. All linked by original lively songs with plenty
of audience participation from clapping hands to catching and throwing
balls, shouting and cheering and jumping up and down. As a children’s show, aimed at young children, it
is quite sophisticated and, as with Avenue Q, it is soon forgotten that
the characters are puppets being carried around by actors. Apart
from a crying George, when he lost his dinosaur, or a huge splash from
the world record besting muddy puddle jump by the entire cast and
audience, there were no special effects. Everything relied on the
actors and an excellent job they made of it. Peppa is a bit of a phenomena, a sort of nonsense
centred around muddy puddles – telling children they should not jump in
muddy puddles without boots on does not help that much pigs and piggy
friends – and it is hard to find adults who like the series beyond its
ability to keep children quiet in five minute bursts. To adults Peppa is a bit of an annoying
know-it-all, a precocious little pig while, for men at least, Daddy Pig
is portrayed as a bit of a dumbo. Yet children adore the series, a fact that could
be seen with the number of stuffed Peppa Pigs, Peppa Pig bags and Peppa
Piggeria arriving with the audience. And, to be honest, they are the audience the show
is aimed at, with parents and grandparents relegated to the role of
transport and provisions providers. And the target audience, including my grandson,
Hallam, seemed to love it, and that is all that matters. Power to the
pig. To 13-11-13. Performances 10am, 1pm and 4pm. Roger Clarke Peppa Pig continues touring through 2014
appearing at Coventry Belgrade May 21-22 and Wolverhampton Grand May 31
and Jun 1. http://www.peppapiglive.com
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