★★★½

“the show is thoroughly feel good”

A forgotten tearoom in Victorian England is a charming place to hide a children’s story. With shades of Dickens, Alice in Wonderland, and just a pinch of Great British Bake Off, Gloria Danili’s Mr Moore’s Bizarre Secret Society is ten out of ten.

1865 society pulls no punches in its treatment of the vulnerable and certainly not for miscreants. Young Leopold Liddell has been sent to live with his imperious Uncle Vernon, while the elderly Mr Moore is evicted and left homeless. The two lives collide in a disused tearoom. They bring it back to life, uncovering its secret past and forming a tribe of misfits and dreamers, drawing the attention of Queen Victoria herself.

The idea behind the play is a winner and the acting is very good. In such a low-budget production, there’s bound to be a lot of doubling. Derek Jeck is commanding as both Lewis Carroll and the villainous Vernon. Sarah Finch is excellent as Queen Victoria, Lord Melmotte and a pirate plus a few other roles. Frazer Blaxland and Elena Mackay are real troupers, playing a stream of constables, judges and street sellers between them. Sofia Inforzato has professional competence beyond her years, taking the child roles, from Alice Liddell to the match seller. The standout is Michael Bertenshaw as Mr Moore. He carries the evening. Henry Camp is a worthy foil as Leopold. Under Roman Stefanski’s direction the role changes are clear and good-natured.

The staging is minimal, and it works. The lighting (Aaron Dootson) does a great deal with very little, and the multimedia is excellent. The sound and video (Julian Butler) enhance the bare stage (Jane Linz Roberts). Victorian London appears around the actors without any need for scenery.

The problem is the first act, which needs severe editing. The set up goes on and on. The pace is flat. Lots of exposition gets in the way of momentum. There are eight meaty scenes before the interval, including Mr Moore’s home, a railway, the London streets, the Old Bailey and the London Library. Not to mention the tearoom. It’s a meander too far. Extraneous details could be swapped for more humour. The Dickens/Alice in Wonderland angle could be mined for more familiar nuggets. This would bring the audience along for the ride, instead of leaving us wondering what is the point.

As a family show, this matters. Modern audiences, especially children, are intolerant of a slow start.

The first act is just about worth sticking with. By the end, the show is thoroughly feel good. The second act, with its Grand Tea Tournament, shows how tight and charming the whole evening could be. A thorough edit would make the tearoom well worth the trip.

PINOCCHIO at the Theatre Royal Stratford East

★★★★

“an eye-popping, feel-good extravaganza”

Theatre Royal Stratford East leads its audience on a magical mystery tour with its vibrant retelling of the Pinocchio story, blessed with neon colours, funky beats – and a fairy to die for.

Sizzling with energy and dressed like an atompunk seaside arcade, this classic tale of the wooden puppet who wants to be a real boy has zip and a dazzling bubblegum aesthetic thanks to set and costume designer Stewart J Charlesworth, who deserves to take the applause alongside the admirable cast.

The story, under the direction of Omar F Okai, draws directly from Italian writer Carlo Collodi’s 1883 classic.

Pinocchio, a mischievous wooden puppet carved by the kind-hearted Geppetto, comes to life. He is impulsive and rebellious, leading him into a series of misadventures. He runs away, skipping school to attend a puppet show. He is soon swindled by the deceitful Sly Fox and Miss Cat, who convince him to gamble away his money.

He joins a group of troublemakers who take him to Playland where he is transformed into a donkey and sold to a circus. After a series of humiliations, Pinocchio is thrown into the sea and swallowed by a shark. Who Pinocchio meets inside the shark finally persuades the puppet to change his ways.

Playland, a chicken farm, a shark’s belly, a workshop, a dark circus – what a confection of opportunities for set design, lighting, choreography and fun.

Everything relies on the winning power and prowess of Pinocchio and Dylan Collymore delivers, with disco moves, soulful tones and a cheeky presence. The music, courtesy of Trish Cooke and Robert Hyman, calls on an eclectic range of global styles and puts everyone through their paces.

The cast is gleeful and charming. Special mention to crowd pleasers Nicole Louise Lewis as Krik Krak (“I say Krik, you say Krak”) and jolly jack of all trades Tok Morakinyo who turns up all over the place in different guises.

Saving the best till last though, cutting through the sugar-rush flim-flam is veteran Michael Bertenshaw as the Blue Rinse Fairy who has sharpened his vaudeville stylings and dry badinage into a formidable comic weapon. With his sardonic eye rolls and wry world weariness, his exasperation might go over the heads of the little ones, but he speaks directly to the grown-ups.

While the exuberant cast sweat buckets in elaborate street-smart dance routines, laconic Bertenshaw merely needs to deadpan to the stalls to have us all in hysterics.

Minor quibbles: the story is picaresque and episodic so it’s easy to lose track of progress; and the evil pair of Fox and Cat could indulge in more obvious crowd-riling villainy – giving everyone more opportunities to boo. Still, the dance numbers landed, the storytelling was upbeat, and everyone left the theatre cheerfully singing a refrain about believing in themselves. Job done.

Tag Archives: Michael Bertenshaw

MR MOORE’S BIZARRE SECRET SOCIETY

★★★½

Bridewell Theatre

MR MOORE’S BIZARRE SECRET SOCIETY

Bridewell Theatre

★★★½

“the show is thoroughly feel good”

MR MOORE’S BIZARRE SECRET SOCIETY

Bridewell Theatre

Reviewed on 2nd October 2026

by Elizabeth Botsford

Photography by Henry Hu

MR MOORE’S BIZARRE SECRET SOCIETY

MR MOORE’S BIZARRE SECRET SOCIETY

MR MOORE’S BIZARRE SECRET SOCIETY

PINOCCHIO

★★★★

Theatre Royal Stratford East

PINOCCHIO at the Theatre Royal Stratford East

★★★★

“an eye-popping, feel-good extravaganza”