Horrid Henry - Live and Horrid! - Daily Info

Lita Doolan April 18, 2009

Horrid Henry wants his own identity separate from that of his kid brother Perfect Peter, so he dreams up his own show. Cue a dazzling rock star routine with stadium lights. The trials of life for Henry include being forced by his ballet teacher to dress up as a banana whilst his little brother (nicknamed the poopsicle) turns out a spot-on dance routine. Henry turns horrid as he transforms an old washing machine box into a lean, mean time machine to take gullible Perfect Peter to a future where boys wear dresses and lipstick.

John Godber has written this play to echo every child's difficult feelings about growing up in a world where they have to do things they don't like and can't control. Henry's evil babysitter Rebecca makes him go to bed at 7pm without watching ‘Mutant Max’ on TV; he seizes the chance to escape the constraints of family life at a sleepover at new friend Nick's house. Only thing is, Nick’s opera-singing parents keep two big dogs - and one of them, Rigoletto, keeps making puddles on the floor. Another chance of escapism comes at school where football tickets are up for grabs - but only for the best footballer. Alas, school chum Moody Margaret proves to be an unfeasibly gifted footballer in a dramatic sequence that echoes a moment from a different John Godber play, Up n Under.

The versatile cast successfully maintain a high level of energy throughout this two hour show, culminating in Henry living out his dream as a rock star. This is his show, after all!

Judith Davies April 15, 2009

I did not have high expectations of Horrid Henry Live and Horrid! - a couple of years ago I borrowed one of the books from the library and read it to my son. He didn’t enjoy it and neither did I – so I was surprised when he said he would like to see the stage show.

For anyone who isn’t familiar with the eponymous Henry, a contemporary version of Just William, he is the creation of author Francesca Simon and her books (illustrated by the brilliant Tony Ross) sell by the million. There is also a cartoon version of the stories shown on CITV.

I expected the show to be “drama” based on a conflation of the books, but it wasn’t; it was completely different. The first surprise was the set, instead of the inside of a house or a garden setting, it looked like a huge school shower room, tiled in shades of blue and grey from floor to ceiling. It was rather dull and I wondered when it was going to open up and reveal the “real” set, but it didn’t. Instead, various hatches opened and some parts of the story were conducted through them and a central staircase which was wheeled out when required.

The show starts with Henry being sent to his room for upsetting his younger brother “Perfect Peter” with a time-machine stunt .Henry goes on to wonder what life would be like if he had his own show – one that he could stop and start at will allowing him to drive the narrative. At this point a second Henry is introduced – something I thought would prove hugely confusing for the children, but it didn’t - they seemed fine with it.

The plot is episodic, going from a dance class with Miss Tutu, to a sleepover, a football match, an evening with an arachnophobic babysitter and the previously mentioned time machine. In between scenes the Killer Boy Rats (a fictional rock group) make a couple of appearances and Henry gets to join them and realise his rock star ambitions. Finally, the story goes full circle and ends where we came in, with Henry being sent to his room following the time-machine incident.

It wasn’t written for adults but the children swarming out of the theatre seemed to have loved it; many were singing the songs that I presume they were familiar with from the TV series. My son really enjoyed it, he said he loved the different stories and the fact that it went “in a loop” and finally gave an explanation for the opening scene.

The theatre was nowhere near full and that’s a shame considering how much work the actors put into it – but good news for anyone wanting to get tickets.

Horrid Henry is a name we hear a lot in my house - my two kids (boy aged 7 and girl aged 9) love it and we've got all the DVDs plus the tee-shirt! So imagine my delight when I heard that we could spend two hours in the theatre with him too!

Well, it was one of the best two hours I've spent watching a show with my kids - from the beginnning, when Henry bounces onto the stage (after arguing with his Mum and Perfect Peter, of course) the show runs like a rollercoaster - lots of songs, dancing, and enough in there to keep a grown-up happy too. Some of the lines had me howling with laughter, especially when Mum and Dad are creeping home, late for the babysitter (sound familiar?) and when Dad gives Mum a washing machine as a birthday present.

But it was the kids who really had the best time - the show is based on the idea of when and if Henry becomes King, but it cleverly weaves in stories that the kids already know from the TV series and from the books - Football Fiend, Dance Class and Time Machine, to name but a few. The actors gave it their all, one of them taking his role as noisy dog to another level, and the end of the show sees the legendary Killer Boy Rats appearing, for one night only, singing a track that's guaranteed to get the grown ups clapping, at the very least. The kids of course are up on their feet long before then!

The characters and songs are very faithful to the TV show, but the show isn't just a transfer from screen to stage - the show really works on its own basis, and the first question my kids asked me was 'when can we see it again?'. That's when I realised how good it had been, because I actually agreed that we could go again! So if you fancy giving them something other than chocolate over Easter, check out Horrid Henry: Live and Horrid at the Playhouse from 15th to 18th April.

Margaret Dublin 1 Apr 2009

Daily Info

Horrid Henry - Live and Horrid!

Location

Oxford Playhouse

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