After being delighted by Leeds Playhouse’s big show of the year, ‘Oliver’, last week, this Friday I braved taking my two little darlings to their children’s offering. Each year the Playhouse creates a show specially designed for a younger audience and this year it was ‘The Enormous Crocodile’.
The play is based on the book of the same name by the legendary children’s book author that is Roald Dahl. I’m ashamed to say this wasn’t a story I knew, but my 5 year old son had read it in class so I was confident it was suitable.
The story revolves, not surprisingly, around an enormous crocodile who one day decides he wants to eat a child, to the horror of the rest of the animals in the jungle. A few of these animals: a monkey, a hippo and a bird of paradise, find the courage they need to become brave and stand up to the crocodile. They take it upon themselves to try to prevent it from eating one of the children who are camping with their (highly irresponsible in my opinion) adult leader.
The play is as far from festive as you can get, being set in a swamp jungle, but there’s something magical about the production nonetheless. I highly recommend taking your seats early as the atmosphere in the theatre as you enter is surreal. The smoke machines, jungle music and spiralling green gobos help to create the mystery of the jungle. The regular appearance of bubbles from the ceiling kept the children entertained as they jumped around trying to pop them.
The cast members also provided some pre-show entertainment as they walked amongst the audience as people were entering, carrying dragon files and interacting with the children. It was a very atmospheric and calming entrance, brilliant for keeping a 3 and a 5 year old entertained. Don’t forget to pick up your bumper seat for the children too, just before you enter the auditorium.
This was a real ensemble performance, with all 6 cast members multi-roling throughout. The set and costume changes were extremely slick, especially considering some of the unusual things they were wearing, like the huge elephant mask and trunk. This really helped keep the young audience engaged for the full 55 minutes. It’s important to note that this isn’t a pantomime but a play, with lively songs throughout. However, there are quite a few moments where the house lights come up and the audience are interacted with directly and are even taught one of the songs to sing along to. This again helped with the consistency in engagement for the young audience.
The standout performance was most definitely Elliotte Williams-N’Dure (main image) who took on the role of the enormous crocodile, her deep, husky, blues voice creating the perfect amount of menace for the villain of the play. The way the production team created all the characters was so original. The crocodile, for example, being ridden like a toy truck around the stage, the tail trailing behind with its head in her hands like a giant puppet. All the cast made the control of their puppets look effortless, but no doubt it took some skill and hard practice to pull it off with such ease and fluidity. All credit goes to Toby Olie and Fly Davies for the wonderful puppet, set and costume design throughout the whole show.
I know I always hark back to the music, but I was pleasantly surprised and pleased to see a live musician onstage. Some of the parts were obviously pre-recorded but it was so nice to see Math Roberts, and for him to be at times involved in the action of the show, too. It’s a great role model for children to see, which is why I was a bit disappointed that the band for ‘Oliver’ is so completely hidden. Children benefit from seeing the skill needed to create the music on stage and appreciate it as its own element within the show.
This production might not be a pantomime and might not be about Christmas, but it’s a magical show in its own right and a beautiful introduction to the theatre for children. It’s also entertaining and clever enough for adults to find interesting. At no point was I looking at my watch and counting down the minutes! It was the perfect age for my 3 and 5 year olds, but I think any child would appreciate the creativity of this clever production.
It’s a definite must-see, whether it’s the holiday season or not.
The Enormous Crocodile is at Leeds Playhouse until 6 January.
https://leedsplayhouse.org.uk/event/the-enormous-crocodile/#book-now
Main image: Elliotte Williams-N’Dure. All photography by Manuel Harlan.
