Tag Archives: Matthew Chase

Tom Gates

Tom Gates
★★★★

Richmond Theatre & UK Tour

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Tom Gates

Tom Gates

Richmond Theatre & UK Tour

Reviewed – 20th March 2019

★★★★

 

“a joyous piece of children’s theatre – and is sure to bring a smile to old and new fans alike”

 

For any family with junior school age children, Liz Pichon’s Tom Gates books have become a familiar and popular addition to our bookshelves. Liz has now written and illustrated fifteen books in the series, and when I mentioned to my ten year old son that Tom Gates was to be ‘Live on Stage’, he was very excited to see how that would work. Director, Neal Foster and Author, Liz Pichon agreed that rather than base the show on one of her many books, they would create a brand new story, and so in a first for the Birmingham Stage Company, they worked together to do just that.

The story starts in the classroom: Tom has got three sad faces on the class achievement chart. If he gets four, he will not be allowed to go on the class outing to the local biscuit factory. At home, his grandparents (the Fossils) have decided to renew their wedding vows, and preparations are in full swing.

Jackie Trousdale’s set is mainly comprised of six drop down screens that have Liz’s very stylised doodles projected onto them. These go up and down as the scenes change with amazing effect. Doors and windows appear and disappear in the blink of an eye, and the rain cloud that follows sister, Delia around constantly is very amusing. My favourite scenes involved Dad (Daniel Harkin), driving Tom and his friends around town in his borrowed hot dog van, all down to a clever projected illustration and some impeccably choreographed acting.

The cast work extremely well together, many playing multiple roles to deliver a fun and cohesive script. Matthew Chase proficiently leads the cast as the titular Tom, his signature hairstyle is lifted straight from Liz’s illustrations and is a nice touch. Justin Davies and Ashley Cousins as school friends, Norman and Marcus, really capture their characters – we all knew similar people at school! Amy Hargreaves shines through as sugary classmate Amy and the emotionally charged big sister, Delia.

Some of the funniest scenes involved Ashley Cousins as Granny and Matthew Gordon as Grandad. Grandad teaching Tom to play the spoons and a wedding arch made of Zimmer frames were among the highlights. Look out for the special wedding carriage, it’s very funny and brilliantly designed.

The whole piece is woven with original music by Liz’s husband, Mark Flannery, with lyrics written by Liz herself. The songs are catchy and witty, and bring more fun to the proceedings. Tom Gates – Live on Stage is a joyous piece of children’s theatre – and is sure to bring a smile to old and new fans alike.

Reviewed by Emma Gradwell

Photography by Mark Douet

 


Tom Gates

Richmond Theatre until 24th March then UK Tour continues

 

Previously reviewed at this venue:
Iolanthe | ★★★★ | May 2018
84 Charing Cross Road | ★★★★ | June 2018

 

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Aliens Love Underpants – 5 Stars

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Underpants

Aliens Love Underpants

The Spiegeltent, Underbelly Festival Southbank

Reviewed – 23rd August 2018

★★★★★

“The original songs are superb, both lyrically and musically, and the dancing is very entertaining”

 

Based on the book by Claire Freedman and Ben Cort and adapted for the stage and directed by Adam Bampton-Smith, Aliens Love Underpants is a tale of underwear, aliens and unlikely friendships. There is a crisis going on: everywhere across the world underpants are going missing. We know it isn’t dinosaurs and we know it isn’t Pant Pirates, so who could it be? Aliens, obviously.

The story focuses around Timmy (Matthew Chase), a young boy who is fascinated by space and has completely run out of pants. His mum (Natalie Simone) manages to get hold of a very special pair for him and it is these pants which set Timmy off on his intergalactic journey. We meet a number of other characters including an American reporter (Samuel Freeman), the eccentric owner of Pants R Us (Kate McKeown), Timmy’s beloved science teacher Mr Stevens (Adam Colbeck-Dunn), as well as some fantastic alien puppets. The cast is incredibly talented; they can sing, dance, act and are also excellent puppeteers.

The story is simple, sweet and silly, as you would expect, and you can tell that many of the children in the audience are already familiar with the book. There’s something for the grownups too, with a few adult references and wordplay thrown in there to keep the parents entertained.

The original songs are superb, both lyrically and musically, and the dancing is very entertaining. The music is definitely a hit with the kids as well as there are lots of little heads bobbing along.

The lighting and sound in general are great and really help to keep the kids engaged and following along with the story. I was impressed by how quiet and mesmerised they all were. The props, set and puppets, all designed by Isla Shaw, are whimsical, cartoonish and almost identical to the drawings in the book.

Overall, Aliens Love Underpants is a truly lovely show. It’s inventive, fun and pitch-perfect for children and parents alike, whether they’re fans of the book or not.

 

Reviewed for thespyinthestalls.com

 


Aliens Love Underpants

Underbelly Festival, Southbank until 30th September

 

 

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