The Gruffalo returns for Christmas
Preview by Lizzie Guilfoyle
THE POPULAR children’s show, The Gruffalo, will return to the West End for Christmas – this year to the Garrick Theatre where it runs from November 24, 2010 to January 16, 2011 (daytime performances only).
This, its fifth consecutive year in the West End, follows seasons at the Duchess, Apollo, Criterion and Soho Theatres. Casting for this year’s production has yet to be announced.
Adapted from Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s award-winning, best-selling book, the story follows Mouse into the deep dark wood on a hunt for hazelnuts. Armed with just a nut map and a very vivid imagination, Mouse runs into the smirking, wheeler-dealer Fox; an eccentric, retired Woodland Air Force officer Owl; and the maraca-shaking, party animal Snake.
Using cunning and guile, Mouse scares them away with stories of an imaginary monster friend, but what happens when he comes face to face with the very creature he imagined?
The Gruffalo is packed with songs, laughs and scary fun for children aged 3 and over. The cast includes Mark Peachey as the Gruffalo, Tom Warwick and Alice Parsloe.
Since its first performance, The Gruffalo has toured England, Scotland and Wales. It has travelled to Ireland, Poland, Canada and North America and has been produced by local companies in Singapore and Chile.
It’s presented by Tall Stories which was founded by directors Olivia Jacobs and Toby Mitchell in 1996, since when it has consistently earned both national and international acclaim for its innovative and entertaining work.
Since it was published in 1999, The Gruffalo has become Britain’s biggest selling picture book, with sales of more than two million copies worldwide. It’s sequel The Gruffalo’s Child was named Children’s Book of the Year at the 2005 British Book of the Year Awards.
Also playing at the Garrick Theatre is a revival of JB Priestley’s 1938 comedy, When We Are Married, starring Maureen Lipman and Roy Hudd.
Other daytime children’s shows sharing West End venues this Christmas are: The Night Before Christmas (Ambassadors Theatre, home to Stomp), Peppa Pig’s Party (the Criterion Theatre, home to The 39 Steps), and Potted Panto (Vaudeville Theatre, concurrently with An Ideal Husband).