A witch with a cat and a very tall hall (and long ginger hair which she wore in a plait) flew into the Floral Pavilion at New Brighton, Wirral, yesterday (August 2).
Tall Stories’ magical musical stage adaptation of the hit book Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler is on national tour following a smashing West End season.
It tells the familiar tale of a witch and her cat flying along but dropping things on the way - her hat, her bow, her wand- which are in turn found by a dog, a bird and a frog who ask if there is room on the broom for them too.
Much to the annoyance of the cat the kind witch agrees and with a tap on her broomstick- and help from the audience shouting “whoosh” they're off.
Eventually the frog jumps for joy and the broom snaps in two- sending her companions tumbling into a bog and leaving the witch being chased by a dragon who fancies witch and chips for tea.
The performance was bundling with energy and colour and the children were encouraged to join in by looking under their seats for the witch’s missing items and helping her cast her “Iggity Ziggity Zaggaty Zoom” spell to create a “truly magnificent broom” for them all.
The bird, American-accented frog and the dog were all brought to life by puppets who each burst into song as they made their appearance on stage and added an element of comedy to the show.
The plot was a little chaotic and harder to follow than the book and film thanks to the additional lines, songs and character dimensions featured to pad it out for the stage.
But overall the kids enjoyed it and it was fun, showing it’s a “truly magnificent” way to introduce your child to live theatre.
