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Review: Lots of Pooh, but little bounce

Lachlan Whan as Tigger meets the audience.
Lachlan Whan as Tigger meets the audience.
THE ultimate judges of this stage adaptation  from the books of A.A. Milne will be the very young audience members who crowd in for Free Rain Theatre’s summer holiday production.

To my mind, it was a hesitant and slightly slow interpretation of far too many episodes from Milne’s stories – the red balloon, the search for the Heffalump, the disappearance of Eeyore’s tail and so on.

With the exception of the ridiculously bouncy Lachlan Whan as Tigger, the cast lacked the physical training skills needed to give the plot some agility, though Kitty McGarry, as Kanga, managed to delight young and old with her clever manipulation of baby Roo in her  pouch

The words often lacked flow and the enclosing before and after scenes with Christopher Robin’s nanny expounding the virtues of her strengthening medicine, added little to the central action.

Yet, in the hands of some very engaging actors, notably Whan, Miles Harrison as Winnie the Pooh,  Sam Needham as Christopher Robin, the familiar events taking place in the 100-Aker-Wood seem to hit the spot with the little ones. For their interaction with the audience, this production is recommended.

Miles Harrison as Winnie the Pooh
Miles Harrison as Winnie the Pooh

 

 

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Helen Musa

Helen Musa

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2 Responses to Review: Lots of Pooh, but little bounce

Judy Smith says: 12 January 2013 at 10:45 am

I think this is a particularly harsh review of a lovely children’s show by Ms Musa. My 2 kids aged 3 and 5 were totally enthralled during the performance and have not stopped talking about it. In fact they keep asking to go again. The setting was delightful and the story and actors engaging. I also think the title of this review is quite inappropriate for a show that is obviously targeted at young children. I have been telling my friends about how lovely the show is and to not be swayed against the show by this unfair article. Not sure which show Ms Musa went to, but we went to the first show on Thursday and it was clear by their reactions that all the children were delighted and quite captivated by the story and the characters. So to all parents and grandparents of young children I say, don’t take any notice of this review and take your loved ones to a really lovely holiday show for kids.

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Judy Smith says: 12 January 2013 at 4:34 pm

PS: In the words of the Canberra Times reviewer “….you would have to be a true Eeyore not to see the charm and humour of this warm-hearted and well-judged production.

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