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
PINOCCHIO
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