Fantastically Great Women who Changed the World – February 2024

Who? Kenny Wax Family Entertainment in association with MAST Mayflower Studios

What? Fantastically Great Women who Changed the World

Where? Chichester Festival Theatre

When? 14-18 February 2024

What the show is about? The show is about a girl called Jade who gets lost on a school trip and ends up in an off limits part of the museum. Whilst there, she meets some of the women who changed the world in wonderfully different ways.

Jade usually always does the right thing and usually gets the feeling that she is invisible. The women she meets throughout the play inspire to be braver and take more chances her by telling her their own incredible stories.

The women she meets include: Frida Kahlo, Rosa Parks, Amelia Earheart, Marie Curie, Emmeline Pankhurst and many more motivational women who you may have heard of.

What was really good about it? I liked the songs and the dancing especially ‘Quiet Children’ because the chorus sounded quite good. Another good one was ‘ Where do you wanna go?’ because the harmonies sounded brilliant. Also ‘ Deeds not Words’ sounded good because the lyrics talk about the hurdles the women had to jump over to get the vote. I also enjoyed ‘World of Colour’ because they talk about having ‘wings to fly’ and ‘painting outside the lines’ which basically means breaking some of the rules at the time and just having fun.

I really liked that we could see the band above the stage during the show. There were 3 of them who played a variety of keyboards and percussion instruments and one of them came down to join the actors for one song when they did a drum solo.

What could be better? Maybe an interval to have an ice cream in but it was a 1hr 15mins performance so that is ok and anyway afterwards I had ice cream for the dessert after my meal at the Bell Inn to top off a very nice fish fingers and chips.

I can’t think of much but my sister suggested the sound could have been better because at the beginning of the show she couldn’t hear what the actor were singing properly. I only had this problem for a couple of minutes but after that it was fine.

What my Dad thinks? It’s the second time we’ve seen this show and I think it’s got a bit better in the last two years. The whole thing was just that bit tighter, the asides that bit funnier, the songs that bit more impactful and just generally a better show. That said, I couldn’t pin point anything in particular that was different, but it just was, okay? We sat slightly to the side this time and it’s clear show is designed to be played on a proscenium arch stage and it would have probably been a better experience both visually and in terms of the sound quality. A thoroughly enjoyable show though and a really inspiring one to take the children to.

Star Rating? 5 Stars!

The Lion King – August 2023

Who? – Disney

What? – The Lion King

Where? – The Lyceum Theatre, London

When? – Since 1999

What’s the show about? The show is about a lion cub called Simba who is next in line to become king, the king being his father, Mufasa.

Scar, Mufasa’s brother and Simba’s uncle, is the bad guy and he tells young Simba about the Elephant Graveyard to try and tempt him to go there. When he goes there with Zazu, Mufasa’s trusty African red-billed hornbill assistant and Nala, Simba’s best friend, they meet Scar’s evil sidekicks, the hyenas. They close in on Simba and Nala and Zazu can’t do anything to help them but luckily they are then saved by Mufasa. He then teaches Simba about the mighty kings of the past, and that they are watching him from the stars above and so when he’s alone the kings will be there for him.

At a stampede of wildebeest, Scar sets a trap for Mufasa’s death and puts Simba in the middle of it. Mufasa saves Simba, but couldn’t save himself, as Scar shoves him away into the middle of the stampede where he falls to his death.

Simba is told by Scar to run away and never return and Simba obeyed, so Scar claims the crown of the Pride Lands. Scar claims that it was Simba who killed Mufasa and that Simba is dead.

Simba runs away and finds a meerkat and a warthog, Timon and Pumbaa, and they teach him Hakuna Matata which means take it easy. Over the many, many years they spend together they become a good trio.

Meanwhile, back in the Pride Lands, there is no food left because Scar has made it a barren and lonely piece of land. Nala eventually also leaves and then comes across Simba in the jungle. At first, they don’t recognise each other, but once they do, Nala tells Simba all about what has happened in the Pride Lands and that Scar is king. Simba still doesn’t yet decide that it’s time to leave Timon and Pumbaa, but after a talking-to from Rafiki, he goes back to challenge Scar to take the crown back as he is the rightful heir to the crown.

He completes his mission and becomes king with Nala as his queen.

What was really good about it? I enjoyed the songs and the performances to go with them. I especially enjoyed I Just Can’t Wait To Be King and Hakuna Matata. The puppets were also really impressive and there were loads of them, including; lions, Zazu, Timon & Pumbaa as a duo were great, the giraffes, the hyenas & elephants as well.

I Just Can’t Wait To Be King included Zazu and a few giraffes. Some of the characters came right down the aisle beside us which was quite cool.

The stampede of the wildebeest was impressive and it looked like the wildebeest were literally stampeding.

Scar, played by George Asprey, was an impressive bad guy. He came across as a really scary and cunning character.

The hyenas are funny, especially Ed, whose puppeteer is called Mark Tatham. Ed just sticks his tongue out and laughs a lot which made me laugh a lot too.

Timon (Jamie McGregor) and Pumbaa (Mark Roper) were probably my favourite characters because they were funny but also really kind to Simba when he needed a friend.

This was my first show in London and it was great to go to the West End and we got to see Covent Garden before the show. There was a juggler performing and he was really good. The Lyceum is a big, old theatre and I enjoyed sitting in the stalls.

What could be better?  I think it was quite hot in the theatre, but that meant that we needed an ice cream at the interval, so that was okay. I had a strawberry one and my sister had a salted caramel one which she didn’t like. According to her, the salted caramel ones in Chichester are much better.

What my mum thinks? I really enjoyed seeing this for the first time with the family – its been on the list for a while! The opening was epic and I loved seeing the animals walk past and onto the stage. Visually impressive with epic singing and costumes/puppetry. Great for the kids and I loved it too. Also big shout out to the staff who were super helpful and friendly.

Star Rating –  🧡💛💚💙

The Sound of Music – August 2023

Who? – Chichester Festival Theatre

What? – The Sound of Music

Where? – Chichester Festival Theatre

When? – 10 July – 3 Sep 2023

What’s the show about? The show is about a young nun called Maria who is sent by Mother Abbess on “God’s errand” to become a governess to the seven von Trapp children. As soon as Maria arrives in the house she is welcomed in by Frau Schmidt, Captain von Trapp’s housekeeper, and after only a matter of few seconds Captain von Trapp enters and greets Maria.

The Captain brandishes a golden whistle and uses it to command the children to march down the stairs and into a straight line. However, only six arrive on time and around ten seconds later the seventh child enters the room, engrossed in a book and Captain von Trapp snaps it shut and she runs to join her siblings. Captain von Trapp tells Maria that they each have a whistle signal in case Maria needed them.

He tells Maria to listen carefully and then instructs the children to step forward and step back once they have said their name. The order is oldest to youngest, like this: Liesl (16), Friedrich (14), Louisa (13), Kurt (11), Brigitta (10), Marta (7) and then Gretel (5).

Captain von Trapp goes to Vienna for a visit to Frau Schraeder and his friend Max. He ends up being engaged to Frau Schraeder and nearly getting married. Meanwhile, Maria had taught the children how to sing (starting with the unforgettable Do, Rey, Mi) so that when the children meet Frau Schraeder for the first time, they sing to her. Afterwards, Captain Von Trapp sings Edelweiss to the children.

They then have a party where Maria feels as if she is falling in love with Captain von Trapp and, because she feels like that is unprofessional, she leaves to go back to the abbey. After having a talking to from Mother Abbess she decides to face the problem rather than hide from it, and so she goes back.

Once Maria takes her job up again she finds out about the engagement between Captain von Trapp and Frau Schraeder. However, the Captain and Frau Schraeder have an argument and the engagement is called off.

Then in a scene where Maria and Captain von Trapp are alone together, they find out that they both love each other so they get married and go on their honeymoon. When they return the Nazis have taken over Austria and the Captain is expected to join their navy and fight for them. He doesn’t want to do that, so they make a plan to sing at the Salzburg Music Festival and then flee the country. It’s sad that they had to leave, but good that they could stay together as a family.

What was really good about it? I enjoyed every song and the way it was performed. I was told that the singing was quieter and the lights were brighter because we went to the relaxed performance, I didn’t actually think the singing was quiet because it still sounded good to me.

Just, on the whole, it was an amazing show to see. If you don’t go to see this show you will regret it.

Gina Beck as Maria was incredible, especially her singing. She was just like Julie Andrews in the film.

Ed Harrison plays Captain von Trapp really well. I liked him because he sticks to his morals throughout but changes from being a stern father to a nicer, more loving one.

I really liked Max’s character because he was funny because he always wanted to be around rich people and was always trying to get his own way by getting performers for his show. Ako Mitchell was great as Max.

I got a salted caramel ice cream at the interval. It tasted so, so nice.

I was lucky enough to meet some of the cast after the show and they were all really friendly. There was Ed Harrison who plays Captain von Trapp, Ako Mitchell who plays Max and Rebecca Ridout who plays one of the Nuns. You can see me with them in the photos below.

What could be better?  I think the only problem was that, in my opinion, there was slightly too much kissing and that is not one of my favourite things.

I didn’t really like all of the Nazi symbols and soldiers because they were a bit scary, but it did give us a good understanding of what it would have been like for them.

What my dad thinks? I’m not ashamed to say I got a bit misty-eyed at this one. The first act is all warm nostalgia brilliantly executed but the second act hits a whole other level of powerful poignancy.

All of the singing was fantastic, but the harmonies created by the Nuns particularly blew me away.

The performance we went to was a relaxed performance and I must give enormous credit to the cast of SoM and the staff at CFT who did a great job. They really considered everyone’s needs and made it an enjoyable experience for all. Inclusion really does matter and they did a great job of making everyone welcome.

Star Rating –  🧡💛💚💙💜

Mother Goose – February 2023

Who? – Ambassador Theatre Group

What? – Mother Goose

Where? – Chichester Festival Theatre

When? – 7 – 11 February 2023

What’s the show about? The show is about a mother called Caroline Goose, her husband Vic and son Jack, who all look after a group of animals including a cricket, a tortoise and a cat.

Then Cilla Quack come along – she’s a goose from Gooseland. She finds her way into the family and she helps them with paying the bills by laying golden eggs. The golden eggs help to pay off the evil energy company and all is going to plan.

However, Mother Goose gets tempted into a life of fame and fortune by Malignia in return for Cilla who is sent back to Gooseland.

Caroline Goose gets everything she ever wanted, but leaves her family and friends behind. Eventually she realises her mistake and tries to right her wrongs. This means she has to go on a mission to Gooseland to save Cilla and win back her family and friends.

What was really good about it? I enjoyed lots of it. The bit that I liked the most was the songs and the way that they were performed. I knew a few of the songs because they were famous songs that just had some of the words changed.

I also enjoyed the funny parts and laughed a lot but then again it’s a panto so I kind of expected some laughs. There were some parts that I didn’t understand but my dad laughed at which I didn’t understand as well. Interval meant ice cream! Yippee!

It was nice that it started at 5pm rather than 7:30pm, so when we got home I wasn’t too tired.

What could be better?  I think that there wasn’t much I didn’t enjoy or think that could be better.

What my dad thinks? Mother Goose is packed full of laughs for everyone. Quite a few were more for the adults but they sailed merrily over the heads of our children, so we all had a great time. The singing, particularly from a few of the ensemble, was very impressive. It was a privilege to see Sir Ian McKellen on stage again, and I hope he didn’t hurt himself too much when he took a tumble.

Star Rating –  🧡💛💚💙💜

Pinocchio – December 2022

Who? – Stuff and Nonsense Theatre Company

What? – Pinocchio

Where? – The Drum – Theatre Royal Plymouth

When? – 24 November 2022 – 14 January 2023

What’s the show about? The story of Pinoccio was told with actors and puppets. This show is about a family who, through a bedtime story, recreate the story of the father’s childhood. Throughout his life, he turns from a wooden puppet to a real boy, which was his childhood dream.

It was the first show I’d seen in Plymouth. It was a nice, big theatre but we were in The Drum which is the smaller one. There was still plenty of space.

What was really good about it? As with Stick Man about a year ago now, the reuse of the table, chairs, wardrobe and the rest of the props and the fact that only three actors played all of the parts was indescribable and inspiring.

I really liked that there were 3 different generations of the same family and I really enjoyed the grandfather when he kept playing the accordion.

It was really funny when they told lies because their noses grew. When they told really big lies the nose grew a lot and when they told silly little lies, the nose just grew a bit. The funny, silly lies were like, ‘the sky is green’ and ‘I’ve had dinner with an elephant.’

What could be better?  I think that it was sometimes hard to tell what tense they were performing in seeing as they switched through them so quickly. I found that a little bit confusing.

What my cousins thinks? 

The musical aspects that ran through the entire performance brought the narrative and storyline to life. It was understandable, fun to watch and join in with, and the energy that came across was infectious. Molly (age 17 and three quarters)

It was really good. Pinocchio was really fun watching. I was excited to watch Pinocchio because Auntie Jess told me about it. I was really wanting to watch Pinocchio’s nose grow. It was phenomenally funny. Annie (age 6 and three quarters)

Star Rating – ❤❤❤❤

Wind in the Willows – December 2022

Who? – Chichester Festival Youth Theatre

What? – Wind in the Willows

Where? – Chichester Festival Theatre

When? – 17–31 December

It’s now been a year since I started writing reviews and I’m back at Chichester Festival Theatre for another one of their Christmas shows. You can find all of my other reviews here.

What’s the show about? Based on the Kenneth Grahame book bythe same name, Wind in the Willows is a show performed by the children of Chichester Festival Youth Theatre.

The story is set near a river and is about a mole and a rat who instantly become friends. Ratty takes Moley on his rowing boat on the river and teaches her all about the wild wood, the other animals and just the world in general.

One particular animal Moley was told about was Toad. Toad is funny and silly and gets into a bit too much trouble. The story is all about Toad’s crazy adventures and how his friends try and help him. Together, his friends help save Toad and Toad Hall (Toad’s home,) from the evil weasels.

Ratty is sensible and clever, Mole is inquisitive and kind and Badger is wise and friendly.

What was really good about it? I really enjoyed the duck song because the costumes were clever, the dancing was good and the song was catchy.

The boat, car and barge were cleverly made out of recycled materials. The barge was a Sprite bottle, the rowing boat a sardine tin and the car was an old bottle.

I liked all the characters but Toad was probably my favourite considering how funny he was.

Before the show, we went for dinner at my favourite Chichester pub, The Bell Inn. I had fish fingers, a sausage, a chicken nugget, broccoli, carrots and maybe a small squirt of tomato ketchup. It was perfect.

What could be better? I think more songs would be better as I really liked all of them.

This time I did get an ice cream at the interval, though. Yippee!

What my dad thinks? On more than one occasion I forgot that I was watching a youth theatre performance. The whole thing was just so well put together. I particularly enjoyed the ensemble singing.

Star Rating – ❤❤❤❤

SIX – November 2022

Who? – A Kenny Wax, Global Musicians and Lucy Moss production

What? – Six the Musical

Where? – Chichester Festival Theatre

When? – 22–27 November

What’s the show about? This show is about the six queens under the reign of Henry VIII. It’s more of a concert. Each song tells the story of each queen’s life with the king. The musical is basically a competition for who had the worst life as queen. Eventually, they decide they are all special in their own way.

What was really good about it? I really enjoyed the format of how there was 1 group song, then each queen got to tell their life story as queen through performance, then a big finale. I also liked the dancing with the music, I think they had to practice extremely hard, considering the level of perfection. In fact, I think I loved it all. I didn’t want the show to stop.

What could be better? I’m not sure if there was anything wrong. Maybe that there was no interval meaning no ice cream but that was because of how short it was.

What my dad thinks? It was great. It’s the second time I’ve seen the tour show and I loved it on both occasions. The soundtrack is brilliant and performed impeccably by the musicians and actors. Also, the show has a great message and is packed with historical content.

Star Rating – ❤❤❤❤❤