Lewis Carroll’s nonsense poem provides the inspiration for this enjoyable children’s show. The young cast produce an inventive, colourful tale as we follow the young Jack, who falls asleep and dreams of an adventure where he must confront the dragon-like Jabberwocky. The use of language is suitably at the forefront of this production. It was a joy to see the young audience members getting involved and thinking up their own nonsense words. The production stays very loyal to Carroll’s work and even contains some in-jokes and references that the adult audience members will pick up on.
The cast made good use of opening up the stage by performing within the audience. There was also some welcome interaction to get the children involved and a number of sections included getting the youngsters on stage and involved with the action. It was never forced and the children really enjoyed it. Costumes, props, music and lighting equally add to the dreamlike atmosphere of the piece and the Jabberwocky itself is a fantastic creation.
The cast performing a variety of characters let themselves down occasionally with a slight lack of energy. Such a wildly creative show requires a bit more pizzazz to maintain the pace, there was a notable drop in focus that could mean losing the younger audience members’ attention. Still, if certain vignettes didn’t work as well as others there was still plenty going on within the production. It was an enjoyable adventure that little ones are sure to be swept along by.
