Dr Seuss’s The Cat In The Hat is back on the London stage and well worth a look we can report after seeing it yesterday! This version is adapted by Katie Mitchell and will be playing at the Pleasance Theatre in Islington until Sunday 4th January 2015.
Now, The Pleasance isn’t my ideal theatre location for children because of the many concrete steps and lack of a lift. The staff however were very helpful and assisted me carrying the buggy both on my way in and on my way out but I still found it a little precarious as the doors kept being opened and Jimmy kept wanting to run through them. I think we all know that boys of two and high concrete steps don’t mix so I would rather they had something in place to make it easier. Saying that, I don’t want to detract from what was a thoroughly entertaining show because it really was well worth the trip!
We’ve seen it before but this time I enjoyed it even more. I don’t know if perhaps it was sitting in the front row and being almost a part of the show that gave it an edge on the last performance but something did and the 45 minute playing time flew by. Both Florence and Jimmy were bubbling with excitement from start to finish and with the Cat In The Hat’s mad cap darings they simply couldn’t contain their laughter. They especially loved being close enough to catch the balls and throw them back on stage when the time came but the cast did come out into the audience and reach those sat behind us too.
We unfortunately happened to have a very irritating man sat next to us who wouldn’t shut up but there’s not much you can do about fellow audience members I suppose. I felt sorry for the fantastically energetic cast as he really was a nuisance and was almost heckling them. Very, very odd!
Despite the irritation of my neighbour we couldn’t help grinning from ear as we watched the children of the story have fun with the cat, things one and two and try to please their very grumpy gold fish. It’s hard to imagine bringing a Dr Seuss book to life because they are so very unusual but yet the essence has been captured and it’s just right! On the way out Jimmy said ‘That was BRILLIANT!’
Definitely give this one a visit but don’t take your buggy!
We were given complimentary tickets in return for an honest review.
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