The Gruffalo
Vaudeville

Just the one whinge: this colourful musicalised version of Julia Donaldson's classic children's book dilutes the most dramatic moment of the story - when, for the first time, the little mouse nervously encounters in the flesh the imagined terrible, teeth, claws, turned-out-toes and terrible jaws of the monster he made up to scare away those who want to eat him. Might more be made of those scary features before we meet the more benign whole?

Still, Olivia Jacobs's Tall Stories production is a terrifically multi-layered entertainment that keeps parents chuckling and their children enthralled. Owl is an RAF type with medals, Spanish Snake loves to dance the rumba and best of all is Fox, who despite the atmospheric set of the dark wood, is a thoroughly urban hustler who, if he doesn't eat the little mouse, will probably sell him a second-hand car.