Review: Five Children and It, the egg, Theatre Royal Bath

Hooray, hooray for this utter triumph of a show. Not because they got postponed before Christmas due to the dread disease (they did); not because they’ve had understudies Peta Maurice and Dixie Newman leaping in (they have), but because this is a top-rate piece of family theatre.

When a show’s worth recommending to old and young, it’s only worth doing loudly and unequivocally. We’re all a bit cautious; there’s a lot going on. So you need to know that this show will not be a waste of your time, energy, money, afternoon or evening.

Instead, I’ll wager multiples of my critic’s fee that you’ll laugh, frown, gasp and (if you’re a theatre bod like me) downright admire the talent and professionalism in this very high quality piece of work. (“How lucky we are,” I thought smugly; “this could be on in a swanky London place but it’s here and so are we.”)

Let’s get specific and see if you might agree:

First up, it’s got music. And not those clichéd family show toons with artisanal paper-and-comb goat-harps; but sassy-smart lyrics, intriguingly-twisty close harmonies, and never a patronisingly predictable musical moment. I didn’t wince once. The music comes from David Ridley, and if there’s a CD on offer, I hope he’s reading…

Next – the story. The clever creatives here (writer Marietta Kirkbride and director Nel Crouch) have taken E Nesbit’s unmistakeable authorial voice and woven her into the Samiad (the character of It), while wrapping some of The Railway Children plot around the children’s adventures (if you haven’t read Nesbit, do! She’s much more acerbic and fun than any BBC adaptation lets on). The structure’s just perfect for children, with plenty of layers to keep adults engaged.

Doxah Dzidzor as Anthea – photo: Paul Blakemore

How about the theatre-y stuff? Will it make everyone laugh? Are there stupid grown-ups and pratfalls? Repeating patterns and call-and-response? Political nods for the adults and LOTS of magic with lights, sound, cows, steam, mime, costume and more? Done very, very well? Without a doubt.

A special salute to movement director Jenni Jackson who makes the invisible visible: steam trains, rickety carts and so much more. Whether it’s medieval battle grounds or vicarage parlours, Rebecca Wood and Sophie Thomas’s design is a joy.

Joe Price’s lighting is seriously impressive (I definitely saw fire-flicker on the battlefield!) and Anna Dixon’s costumes are pitch-perfect: purple sand-fairy and Edwardian nursery clothes – and a religious zealot’s bobble hat is an uncanny flourish of costuming genius.

Craig Edwards as It – photo: Paul Blakemore

If you’ve read my past reviews, you know I don’t often gush. But this cast – Patrick Bridgman’s Uncle Paul (and miscellaneous other gents), Hannah Bristow’s delightful Robert, Doxah Dzidzor’s magnificent Anthea, Hanora Kamen’s utterly sympathetic Jane and Luke Murphy’s splendid Cyril are an ensemble to die for. They’re superb-level-sharp, a glorious team – an object lesson in how to super-perform as a team.

And no – I haven’t forgotten It, played by Craig Edwards, who also gives us a brilliant magicked-into-an-adult baby and a range of other men in the local town – all comically traumatised – who don’t know what’s hit them. He does it so well, always the fool for the delighted audience, giving the whole room the giggles and belly laughs we need and balancing the story of the book with fourth-wall breaking mischief that every child loves.

Do not miss this before it closes on January 16. It’s proper family theatre of the highest quality. Now all I want for Christmas ’22 is to see what they could do with a phoenix and a flying carpet…

(l-r) Hannah Bristow, Hanora Kamen, Luke Murphy, Doxah Dzidzor – photo: Paul Blakemore

Five Children and It (age recommendation 6+) is at The Egg, Theatre Royal Bath, Sawclose, Bath, BA1 1ET until January 16. Tickets area available from www.theatreroyal.org.uk.

Main photo: Paul Blakemore

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