I trotted into Theatre Severn in my high heels and joined my mum and two little boys a few minutes late. A work meeting had overrun and the lovely box office staff had let them go in and sit down after getting confirmation of their seat numbers despite the tickets being in my possession.
My lateness was probably a little annoying to the family next to us – not because I had to squeeze past them, but because I was met with a barrage of information ‘Tree Fu Tom is here’ ‘Twigs is here too’ ‘the mushrooms have a funny laugh’ ‘they have a treasure map’. It was safe to say my four year old and two year old were enjoying themselves!
They were overjoyed by what was unfolding on stage. As well as some of their favourite characters in front of their eyes, there were light up costumes, bangs of light and smoke as Tree Fu Tom did his stuff, a boat that floated across a river and much more.
As a parent I was very impressed with the costumes – they were extremely detailed and incredible copies of the cartoon version. Every time a new character came out I was struck by how fantastic the costume was – I did think Tree Fu Tom should have had a bigger head but I am not sure how much the costume designer could have done on that point…..
The actors were brilliant, really enthusiastic and kept the children involved all the way through.
The youngsters were on their feet to help get the magic to Tom when he needed it – and I am pretty sure Nana came close to a fist in the face on a couple of occasions when my four-year-old really got into it!
They watched as Tree Fu Tom and the gang searched for treasure, closely followed by the naughty Mushas who were trying to get to the treasure themselves.
The Mushas really made the show for me, providing the comedy and fun that I always like the most at children’s theatre. They also provided the annoying (but brilliantly performed) laugh that my children are re-enacting 20 times a day now, but I will forgive them for that…..
It was when the performance was coming to an end that my favourite bit took place. The dancing at the end really made me smile (although some of the parents could have got into the groove a bit more I feel). My two were swinging their hips, following the dancing moves and having a great time to finish off the experience.
As the curtain came down I was asked the question: “That was really good, when can I be an actor?”
All in all a great afternoon (for the children and me). My only moment of sadness was in the interval when I discovered that the snack bar did not take cards and even the emptying of all coat pockets did not provide enough to buy the flashy light sticks, snacks for the children AND a cup of tea for us…..so I would suggest making sure you have enough change for a cuppa…and even an ice-cream – us adults deserve a treat too!
There are plenty of shows coming up at Theatre Severn for the kids so take a peek and see what you fancy www.theatresevern.co.uk
Tree Fu Tom Live!
