★★★★

“playful, imaginative and full of heart”

Tall Stories returns with another charming adaptation of Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s much-loved picture book, The Gruffalo’s Child. Directed by company co-founder Olivia Jacobs, this production remains faithful to the rhythmic storytelling of the original text while adding Tall Stories’ signature playfulness and audience engagement.

From the start, the show leads us straight into the “deep dark wood,” following the Gruffalo’s Child as she wanders in search of the legendary Big Bad Mouse. Isla Shaw’s rotating set—cleverly revealing and concealing the Gruffalo—offers one of the most effective visual surprises, echoing the book’s iconic illustrations.

The cast of three brings great energy to the stage. Hannah Miller gives the Gruffalo’s Child a sweet, curious presence that young audiences love. Joe Lindley takes on the Gruffalo and all the woodland predators, shifting between Snake, Owl and Fox with strong physicality and comic timing. Sabrina Simohamed shines as both the Narrator and the Mouse, transforming from one to the other with remarkable clarity using only subtle costume changes. Her switch into the tiny Mouse is one of the standout moments of the show.

Tall Stories has always understood how to involve children, and this production breaks the fourth wall with confidence. The Snake welcome the audience as party guests, the Owl swoops across the stage flapping large wings, and Mr Fox leads a lively dance (Morag Cross) that has the whole auditorium smiling. These moments give young theatregoers a sense of real participation rather than simply watching from their seats.

Some elements could be strengthened; the Snake costume leaves little room for imagination and caused a few children to whisper “Who’s that?” during the scene. And while the appearance of the “Big Bad Mouse” shadow is a key moment from the book, the staging here feels brief and slightly underpowered, leaving the audience wanting a bit more build-up.

Musically, Jon Fiber and Andy Shaw’s songs keep the story moving with gentle humour and catchy rhythms. The final visual image—Gruffalo holding his child—is a touching and satisfying end, followed by a cheerful closing song that sends families out with warm smiles.

The venue’s scale occasionally works against the show’s potential for immersion—a more intimate space might have drawn the audience deeper into the magic. But the storytelling remains engaging throughout. The Gruffalo’s Child continues Tall Stories’ reputation for delivering high-quality children’s theatre: playful, imaginative and full of heart.

Overall, The Gruffalo’s Child succeeds as a clear, rhyming tale brought to life with care and consistency. It may not reinvent the form, but it honours its source with heart—and for young viewers witnessing theatre for the first time, that can be a wonderful gift.

HADESTOWN at the Lyric Theatre

★★★★★

“Hadestown is the West End musical you’ll want to see this year. And next year. And the year after.”

Hadestown is that remarkable thing: an adaptation of a tragic Greek myth that isn’t an opera or a film, or a series of elegiac poems, but is instead a bluesy, jazzy, rock musical with an uplifting ending. Yes, you read that right. Anaïs Mitchell, who wrote the music, lyrics and book, promoted early versions of Hadestown from rural beginnings in Vermont for years before she found the right team to help bring her vision to Broadway. And after taking Broadway by storm in 2019, it’s now the turn of London’s West End. This production of Hadestown has found just the right venue. The Lyric Theatre on Shaftesbury Avenue is big enough to enhance the energy of its multi-talented cast, yet intimate enough to create the mood of a jazz club in New Orleans.

Hadestown is not the first musical to adapt the ancient Greek story of singer songwriter Orpheus and his wife Eurydice, but this is a fresh take on an old story. In the original, Orpheus and Eurydice are newly weds, blissfully happy until Eurydice dies from a snakebite. Unable to accept her loss, Orpheus follows her into Hades’ realm, with only his musical talent for protection. But Hadestown is not just about Orpheus and Eurydice. It’s also the story of another pair of doomed lovers, Persephone and Hades, the King and Queen of the Underworld. Plus their part in the environmental destruction that’s taking place on the planet above them. There’s a lot of material to unpack, but Mitchell’s lyrics, music and book are satisfyingly complex enough to hold it all.

Mitchell and her team have made some changes to the original Greek myth. Orpheus is still the dreamy artist, too busy composing songs to notice the danger his wife is in. Eurydice is an orphan in this version, hungry and cold. When the King of the Underworld tempts her with a one way ticket on his train to hell, she gives up Orpheus for food and shelter in return. Her story is mirrored in that of Hades’ unhappy wife Persephone. Hades, the brutal capitalist, is too busy exploiting his workers to pay much attention to her. The irony is that Hades thinks he can chain Persephone to him with his profits in gold, silver and jewelry. In the Hadestown version of the myth, there are four unhappy people with much to give. Yet they keep making the choices that bring them all to hell. There’s a lesson there for all of us. Fortunately it takes the form of memorable songs, brilliant lyrics, plus a book that is unusually complex and thought provoking. With so much packed into Hadestown, it’s easy to forgive the length of this musical. And one or two spots where the action slows, and you waken, for a moment, from the dream.

The Lyric Theatre’s production of Hadestown has put together a fantastic cast, and a band of great talent to support them. Despite the formidable leading men, Dónal Finn (Orpheus) and Zachary James (Hades), this production belongs to its leading women. Gloria Onitiri as Persephone and Grace Hodgett Young as Eurydice fill the space with their powerhouse voices, and Melanie La Barrie (Hermes) is both a voice to reckon with as well as a sympathetic narrator. Fates Bella Brown, Madeline Charlemagne and Allie Daniel turbo charge the female power on stage. The rest of the cast are equally dynamic supporters, and there’s no question the musicians are up to the task of backing these voices. Trombonist Daniel Higham and Brad Webb on drums stand out as they add just the right amount of jazz club intimacy to draw the audience in. The choreography (David Neumann), costumes (Michael Krass) and lighting (Bradley King) echo the sense of nightclub ambience. Together with the vision of Mitchell, the direction of Rachel Chavkin and Rachel Hauck’s scenic design, the team keeps this version of the Orpheus and Eurydice myth paradoxically intimate, while seamlessly transferring the action between upper world to underworld, with assists from stage lifts and revolves.

Hadestown is the West End musical you’ll want to see this year. And next year. And the year after. Take your friends. This version of a classical Greek myth is something we can all relate to. Orpheus and Eurydice’s love story may have a tragic ending, but you’ll leave the theatre in an upbeat mood.

Tag Archives: Lyric Theatre

THE GRUFFALO’S CHILD

★★★★

UK Tour

THE GRUFFALO’S CHILD

Lyric Theatre

★★★★

“playful, imaginative and full of heart”

THE GRUFFALO’S CHILD

Lyric Theatre then UK Tour continues

Reviewed on 29th November 2025

by Portia Yuran Li

Photography by Charles Flint (from previous production)

Previously reviewed at this venue:

HADESTOWN | ★★★★★ | February 2024

GET UP STAND UP! | ★★★★ | August 2022

THE GRUFFALO’S CHILD

THE GRUFFALO’S CHILD

THE GRUFFALO’S CHILD

🎭 A TOP SHOW IN FEBRUARY 2024 🎭

HADESTOWN

★★★★★

Lyric Theatre

HADESTOWN at the Lyric Theatre

★★★★★

“Hadestown is the West End musical you’ll want to see this year. And next year. And the year after.”