Skip to main content

Review of Dr. Seuss's The Lorax at The Old Vic, London

It was obvious I know, but being struck with my ultimate horror on entering The Old Vic of hundreds of children, made me uncomfortable at the outset. Especially as this wasn't a pantomime, could they possibly be controlled? Would there be screams, bawls and cries of "I want to go home!" etc.

There was not, this audience was actually one of the best behaved that I have ever experienced. I heard no grumbles, no sweet wrappers, no mobile phones. All I did hear on a couple of occasions, were a few squeals of absolute joy at what they were seeing. That could easily have been me; but it wasn't; as The Lorax is a thing of absolute wonder, a visual and audio feast like anything you could ever dream of.

Adapted for the stage by David Greig from Dr. Seuss's surprisingly serious tale, it tells a rather observant and modern tale of the perils of deforestation. At the time groundbreaking, it has over forty years later lost none of its relevance; very much a sorrowful taint on humanity perhaps? I have read a review today that suggests that it is too preachy in its telling, but I would suggest that if you find this wonderful show too preachy there may be something lying in your subconscious that you might need to address.

The message is clear yes, but gently told among colourful surroundings and joyful songs. When I say joyful songs I really mean it. The collection from composer Charlie Fink; of Noah and the Whale band fame, are of exceptional quality and combined with choreography of the pieces from Drew McOnie, make them a particular highlight of a show of endless ones. The pick for me of the song numbers has to be the exceptional Thneed 2.0, a great tune and the funniest routine of the night. Who couldn't love a somersaulting banana?

This is predominantly an ensemble show, but it is led with sublime skill and presence by Simon Paisley Day. Holding a tune superbly and giving huge depth to the character of the Once-ler, despite being saddled with his gloriously garish wardrobe. He deftly manages to make the character both boo hiss wicked, while maintaining a sympathetic edge, as you can feel his plight between wanting wickedly obtained success and remorse for what he has done.

The foul deed is done upon of course to our title character, the glorious Lorax, controlled by Simon Lipkin, Laura Cubitt and Ben Thompson, and voiced with boldness and grumpiness by Lipkin. Together the three pour over the magnificent puppet, either hunched, crouched or laying down behind and you might think this would be a weird distraction. However the eyes are constantly on the seemingly living breathing Lorax, with totally realistic movement created by the three puppeteers from perfect posture to twitching mustache. There was a magnificent moment when the Lorax took a particularly dynamic pose on a tree trunk and an unremitting cry of joy and laughter came from a younster somewhere towards the back of the stalls. A real magic moment to witness, as was the rest of the audiences reaction to it.

The only other fixed character from the cast was Emily Houghton, who had the rather interesting role of the donkey. An interesting one for the CV no doubt. However her performance was quite brilliant, creating a very endearing and comical donkey. The rest of the cast are slightly difficult to put a handle on, however there is no baggage in this ensemble. As be they parcel deliverers; a brilliant lead out of the interval, or slinkily sexy lawyers. The emsemble are a cast of exceptional talent and skill.

Their skills do not just stop at dancing, acting and singing however as they also bring the world of Dr. Seuss to us through the growing and tumbling of trees, to the puppet controlling of dancing and tea supping fish, to the flying of beautiful birds over the audience. The director Max Webster has created a constantly flowing piece despite so much set from designer Rob Howell to handle. It moves effortlessly from scene to scene, not allowing the attention of the contrasting audiences demographic to wander. It is actually one of the finest set changing shows I have seen, and there truly is a lot of set to shift.

Well in all honesty, it is one of the finest shows I have seen. Joyful, meaningful, delightful. Delicious on the eye, tingling on the ear, and trembling in the heart. The Lorax is a thing of beauty that appeals to all ages and tells its powerful hidden story with grace.

The Lorax is indeed a glorious thing of joy,
That will clearly delight any girl or indeed boy,
The world of Dr. Seuss becomes alive before your eyes,
Making them most bold, as big as mince pies,
I suggest that you head to the Old Vic at pace,
As tickets may disappear most soon from all trace.

«««««


Performance viewed: Thursday 17th December, 2015 at The Old Vic, London.

The Lorax continues at The Old Vic, London until Saturday 16th January, 2016. Details can be found at http://www.oldvictheatre.com/whats-on/2015/the-lorax/


Popular posts from this blog

Review of Murder She Didn't Write at Royal & Derngate (Royal), Northampton

Murder She Didn't Write , stopping off for a four-day run at Royal & Derngate on a lengthy UK tour, treads the now well-worn path of an improvisational evening of theatre entertainment. Unsurprisingly, from the title, this show from Degrees of Error's takes a murder mystery as its inspiration, with the story influenced by ideas from the audience each evening. Due to this, Murder She Didn't Write and a review are very much an individual affair. What I saw in my evening at the theatre will differ significantly from what the audience will see the following evening; however, the fine performers will remain. The touring cast, in no particular order, is Lizzy Skrzypiec, Rachael Procter-Lane, Peter Baker, Caitlin Campbell, Stephen Clements, Douglas Walker, Harry Allmark, Rosalind Beeson, Sylvia Bishop, Emily Brady, Alice Lamb, Sara Garrard, Peta Maurice and Matthew Whittle. For my performance, Skrzypiec, Procter-Lane, Baker, Walker, Bishop, and Clements were on stage alongsid...

Review of Immune by R&D Youth Theatre at Royal & Derngate (Royal), Northampton

The cover note for the script of Oladipo Agboluaje's Immune describes it as "a challenging science fiction play with a large cast", and the word challenging in this case is not a lie. This is a fast paced, multi-cast changing script which leaves little room for error for its young cast in the performance. If the script isn't enough to handle for the young performers, director Christopher Elmer-Gorry and designer Carl Davies have made the situation even more complex for the actors with the set and stage work. Having to manhandle great panels on wheels and a huge cube, which also splits in two occasionally, during scene changes requires skill, coordination and cooperation of a high level. As if all this is not enough, the actual story is epic enough for the relatively small stage of the Royal. Attempting to form an apocalyptic world (albeit only happening in Plymouth) offers challenges in itself, but Agboluaje's script does that in a sort of apocalypse in the teac...

Review of Legally Blonde at Royal & Derngate (Derngate), Northampton

As I settled down in my chair at the Derngate to see this touring production of the musical Legally Blonde , I generally had no idea what I was letting myself in for. Never having seen the film, read little up on the show, as is my want, and sitting in a clearly unbalanced gender demographic, this show was quite clearly not targeted at me. As the opening number, a catchy, but the incredibly screechy song, Omigod You Guys was performed, I was not, let's say, won over at first. However, it was clear that this just served as an overwhelming and ridiculous setup to the boldness of the show. The second number, Serious was a much better experience and genuinely funny song and throughout the tracks to come, there was much better to come. Our lead is Elle Woods (a charming, bubbly Lucie Jones), a typical caricatured blonde whose sole aim in life is to get the hand of her love in life Warner Huntingdon III (Liam Doyle). When he breaks up with her in pursuit of someone "serious...