Review: ALI THE MAGIC ELF, Tron Theatre

Every year alongside their annual pantomime, the Tron Theatre stages a Christmas show for those who are a little too wee for the panto. Ali the Magic Elf was their 2019 offering for 3-8 year olds and it has now been recorded for streaming until 25 December.

Written and directed by Andy Arnold, Ali the Magic Elf is beautiful gentle storytelling.
Performed by Ramesh Meyyappan (Ali), Christina Gordon (Sally) and Simon Donaldson (Peely Wally) we are welcomed to the North Pole and into Ali's workshop. Sally and Peely Wally explain that it's the day before Christmas and there's a lot of work for Ali to do to get the toys ready for Santa to deliver.

Ali is fast asleep and the other elves explain that we need to wake up but that Ali uses eyes over ears so we need to communicate with him in sign language. The elves teach the audience BSL signs for how to speak to Ali.

Ali the Magic Elf is very clever with its physical storytelling. Donaldson and Gordon provide the musical accompaniment for the piece while Ali tries to get the toys ready to leave the workshop- while getting himself into all sorts of trouble. Organisation isn't Ali's strong point and children will love the silly slapstick. Meyyappan is a thoroughly engaging performer as he tells the story through mime and with added magic tricks.

I saw Ali the Magic Elf in person last year with some of my small friends and I thought it translated really well to the screen. A large part of the show is interacting with the audience but this still works well in the recording as the audience are invited to sign and sing along.

This recording of Ali the Magic Elf has managed to capture all of the magic of the stage production and makes for a heartwarming festive watch.

Ali the Magic Elf is available to stream until 25 December.

Photo credit: Eoin Carey

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