GOLDILOCKS AND THE THREE BEARS. To 3 January.
London
GOLDILOCKS AND THE THREE BEARS
devised by the company
Lyric Hammersmith Studio To 3 January 2004
Mon-Sat various dates 10am (till 19 December), 11am, 12pm (till 18 December), 1pm,2pm,3pm
Runs 45 minutes No interval
TICKETS: 08700 500 511
www.lyric.co.uk
Review: Timothy Ramsden 16 December
Gentle, imaginative, funny - perfect for 3-5s. But mind the grannies.It really ought to be 'The Three Bears and Goldilocks'. Though it's kept skilfully credible in story terms, doubling Bear child and Goldilocks means the intruder's never developed as much as the threseome, whose morning routine provides a lot of comedy in the show's first half.
Erupting unwilllingly from their beds, they provide fun as the little 'un first sits on the Daddy-sized chair, leaving his sizeable father to squat perilously on the remaining, tiny seat, then tries her hand at father's massive porridge bowl. (The bowls are wittily hung on the wall, ascending like the cliched suburban flying ducks).
There's song and rhythmic, percussive possibilities are exploited along with movement. It all looks set to be another orderly morning, up to the walk in the woods.
Which is when the athletic Goldie springs into action, bursting through a window and causing mayhem as she tries each bed and bowl until finding the most suitable. And, naturally, it's always the last one.
Innocent if destructive, she disturbs the security of family routine, as the Bear family discover on returning to the mess she's created with clothes and bedclothes flung all over. We know she's just having fun, so can enjoy their fear at who - or what - might be lurking upstairs.
Cathy Wren transforms the Lyric Studio into a forest-surrounded cottage, with characters glimped outside the windows. The three performers relate well to their audience, who are mainly seated on floor-cushions, while Goldilocks' gymnastic display allows the mayhem to come about without being deliberately destructive.
And when she flees, the family's safety is happily restored, just as the remaining porridge cools to the perfect temperature. As perfect as Sally Goldsworthy's well-paced direction of this lovely show.
Ah, the grannies. Only one, to be fair. While most adults sat silently, allowing the youngsters who were the main audience to be involved with what was happening, one poor youngster was sat on granny's knee and 'treated' to a mix of aural description and commentary. Did someone hide under a bed? 'He's hiding under the bed' it was announced. Worse, when something funny came along there was exaggerated laughter. Something exciting, an overdone 'Oooh'.
Apart from rudeness to people around (talking in the theatre is not the same as talking over the TV at home), this smothered the child concerned in imagination-stifling commentary and disrupted his focus on the action. No wonder, towards the end he began shouting out things he'd had said to him, or calling out irrelevantly.
Let's not be sexist; grandad chipped in too, less often but more loudly. Adults should remember whose show this is - we're guests at younger people's parties.
My solution's clear and low-cost, if not cost-free. Let the children in to see the play, and provide a creche for grandad and granny.
Performers: Annette Fiaschi, Erika Poole, Peter Savizon
Director: Sally Goldsworthy
Designer: Cathy Wren
Lighting: James Farncombe
Composer: Ben Glasstone
2003-12-16 12:20:28