The Gruffalo Live!

Boo took a stroll through a deep dark wood, 
Boo saw a show,
And the show was good!

We went to see The Gruffalo Live for my birthday a week ago, at our local theatre and it was FABULOUS! It was so well done and was laugh-out-loud funny for the 3 generations that we took to see it; DaddyBear and I, my sister and her boyfriend, my Mum, and of course Boo! 


We have taken Boo to see other shows before; In The Night Garden (Also fab- going again this summer!), Peppa Pig (Lots of fun and well done!), and most recently Postman Pat (Terrible! I'm not adding a link because it was so bad I would hate for any of you to suffer seeing it too!). She loves shows (even Postman Pat!). She is completely enraptured by them from beginning to end. So when I saw that The Gruffalo was on on my actual birthday I immediately booked tickets!

Boo had been excited about seeing it for a long time, and when we went to see Postman Pat last month, she had seen all the Gruffalo posters in the foyer, and when it finished she turned to me and said; 'see the Gruffalo now Mummy' and wailed when I told her that that was on a different day! Bless her!

So when the day finally came she was bursting with excitement; 'I excited, I excited about the Gruffalo Mummy!'

Me, Boo and my Sis all laughing our heads off!

When we saw the set on the stage I began to get just as excited myself! It really looked like the wood in the book! 

Then the 'little brown mouse' came on. Unlike other shows which use full costumes, this was just a girl with her hair in buns on top of her head- for ears, and a tail tied to her back- no mouse costume to hide in or make it blatantly obvious that this was the mouse- but because of the way the 'mouse' held herself and spoke and twitched, Boo immediately announced 'there's the mousey! See him!' without any need for a prompt from me! The same went for the Fox, Owl and Snake, who were all played by the same guy. And then the storyteller dressed up in an awesome big, shaggy costume to become the Gruffalo at the end!

It was so well done. From the length of time it was (55mins with no interval), to the 3 actors who brought the story so brilliantly to life with few props and costumes.
Each character had their own song, which were all catchy and fun. There were jokes galore for both old and young. When it ended Boo (obviously cried a lot first) said 'I enjoy Gruffalo! I enjoy Mummy's birthday!'.

I loved that the actors weren't dressed in replica costumes from the book; it made it more like proper theatre rather than a cheesy show. And I think it is much better for little ones' imaginations too. 
Since the show Boo has been reciting and acting out the story non-stop, adding her own twist. For example, yesterday she was playing in my parents' garden, pretending to be hunting for the Gruffalo. She was reciting the story to DaddyBear, who asked her; 'where are you meeting him?' to which she replied 'here, by this potty (pointing to her potty), and his favourite food is scrambled Daddy!' and she chased him all round the garden shouting 'I'm the Grauffalo! I'm the Gruffalo!'
Later that day we were down by the river and she stared reciting it again; 'Sorry, no, I having a feast with a Mummy! She has terrible hair (charming!!!), and beautiful eyes (ahhh what a sweetie!) and chubby chops (Oi!!!)' Cheeky little madam!

WARNING: you may be forced into
(by your persuasive howling toddler)
buying a toy Gruffalo after the show.

I highly recommend this show, and hope that some of you that read this will go out and book tickets- it really is great entertainment that will feed your child's imagination, love of books, and will stay with them long after they close the curtains at the end of the show! 

Thanks for reading!

MummyBear X