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.

What an eye-popping, feel-good extravaganza.

PINOCCHIO at the Theatre Royal Stratford East

Reviewed on 30th November 2024

by Giles Broadbent

Photography by Craig Fuller

Previously reviewed at this venue:

WONDER BOY | ★★★★ | October 2024

ABIGAIL’S PARTY | ★★★★ | September 2024

NOW, I SEE | ★★★★ | May 2024

CHEEKY LITTLE BROWN | ★★★½ | April 2024

THE BIG LIFE | ★★★★★ | February 2024

BEAUTIFUL THING | ★★★★★ | September 2023

PINOCCHIO

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★★★★

“Cookson’s inventive style of directing is – as ever – capturing, stimulating and entertaining”

Wonder Boy by Ross Willis, and directed by Sally Cookson, follows Sonny (Hilson Agbangbe) as he comes to terms with the cause of his stammer; and tries to overcome it. Sonny has a passion for art and creates a comic character Captain Chatter (Ciaran O’Breen) who joins him as he moves to a new foster carer as well as a new school. He is befriended by the hilarious Roshi (Naia Elliott-Spence) and guided by the initially guarded Wainwright (Eva Scott). Wainwright has her own obstacles as she comes up against the new, heartless headmistress Fish (Jessica Murrain) who attempts to change the school for the worst.

Ross Willis has written an incredibly accessible and important story, while Cookson’s inventive style of directing is – as ever – capturing, stimulating and entertaining. The piece shied away from lazy stereotypes while staying current with a clear finger on the pulse of what is relevant for younger audiences.

The stage was bordered with an electric blue, neon light that sizzled on the perimeter of the action. Katie Sykes (set designer) struck a fantastic balance of producing a spacious, de-cluttered stage while chromatically supporting scenes with a variety of levels, thus subtly highlighting areas of the stage for scenes to take place. There was a wonderful interactive backdrop that drew the dialogue of the scenes using the speaking character’s handwriting. This, combined with the sign language that Captain Chatter used, accelerated the inclusivity of the piece and broadened the show’s audience reach while still being able to be clear on the heart and story of the play.

The lighting (Aideen Malone) and sound (Jonathan Everett) were phenomenal, with both mediums truly engaging and gripping the audience. This was particularly apparent in the dream-like states of Sonny’s imagination, where dialogue became echoed and ambient sounds ever-immersive. The overall tightness of Wonder Boy was mesmerising; with tiny minute detail being executed by all of the cast with precision and accuracy.

Agbangbe’s rendition of Sonny was impressively well-found and demonstrated how watchable and gifted he is as an actor. He really showed us how much Sonny’s mother meant to him and how anger is Sonny’s go-to emotion. His accomplice Captain Chatter, seamlessly blended sign language with mime, the exactitude of his movements was awe-inspiring. Roshi, provided brilliant moments of comedy, while having a touching character arc. The eccentric, farce-like Fish brought a comedic level, too, while Murrain’s interpretation of Mum helped to bring Sonny’s emotions out. Scott’s Wainwright superbly presented the deep humanity of teachers. You could feel that audience really resonated with her as a character.

The production values of Wonder Boy – from writing to acting quality to direction, lighting and sound – were magnificently high. It’s an important, unpatronising and downright entertaining coming-of-age story that works wonders at grasping its target audience as well as branching out to wider groups.

Tag Archives: Theatre Royal Stratford East

PINOCCHIO

★★★★

Theatre Royal Stratford East

PINOCCHIO at the Theatre Royal Stratford East

★★★★

“an eye-popping, feel-good extravaganza”

PINOCCHIO at the Theatre Royal Stratford East

Reviewed on 30th November 2024

by Giles Broadbent

Photography by Craig Fuller