The Famous Five: A New Musical

The Famous Five: A New Musical – October 2022

Who? A co-production between Chichester Festival Theatre and Theatr Clwyd

What? The Famous Five: A New Musical

Where? Chichester Festival Theatre

When? 21st October – 12th November 2022

What’s the show about? 3 children (Julian, Dick and Anne) go to stay with their cousin (George) for the summer. After George falls out with her dad, the four of them and their dog (Timmy) decide to run away and go on an adventure. Unfortunately, George and Timmy got kidnapped and the others had to come to the rescue.

What was really good about it? The music was great. I really liked all of the songs and the way they were performed. They tell the story by acting out the song instead of dancing and it’s really clever.

I also enjoyed the funny bits of the show. Bobby was particularly funny and had loads of jobs. It was a bit like Miss Rabbit from Peppa Pig. I wasn’t sure how he had the time to do every job! He also (weirdly) wore lots of hats. I wasn’t sure where I would store them all.

My favourite characters were Dick and George. Dick because he kept talking about food and I felt I was agreeing with him most of the time. George was great because she was so brave and courageous and always looked for adventures.

There were some amazing puppets in the show. There was a puppet for the dog (Timmy) for the whole body. I wasn’t sure where the treats went once someone had given him one though. There was a puppet for a sheep, that was very funny, it could even make noises, like baa. I also liked the birds (puppets as well) flying around and through the air and the seal puppet made everyone laugh.

Before the show, we had an afternoon tea at the Brasserie, I especially enjoyed the blue candyfloss. My sister’s favourite thing was the blue candyfloss as well (see pictures below).

What could be better? We had a massive afternoon tea before the show, so we didn’t get an ice cream at the interval. Disappointing. Otherwise, it was a good show.

What my dad thinks? “The kids loved it. The songs were great (especially Jump, Fly, Fall) and there was a lot of humour in the show. The character of Bobby offered a lot of the laughs with some genuinely funny lines, but I didn’t really get why this otherwise likeable, happy character decided to become the evil sidekick to the villain.”

Star Rating – ❤❤❤❤❤