BWW Reviews: THE TIGER WHO CAME TO TEA, Vaudeville Theatre, July 16 2011

It's 43 years since it was first published, so there'll be plenty of mums and dads in the audience who will remember Judith Kerr's classic book from their own childhoods as well as from more recent evenings, reading aloud its plain words and lovely narrative in the hope of sending their own kids off to sleep. David Wood's faithful adaptation has toured for some time and arrives in the West End at the Vaudeville Theatre for a run (until September 4) that coincides nicely with the school holidays, playing at child-friendly times in the late morning and early afternoon.

The book's simple, clean illustrations are key its popularity and set designer Susie Caulcutt has done a fine job in recreating Sophie's 1960s' suburban kitchen, a room thrown into chaos by the arrival of The Tiger. And what a Tiger! Robert Allsop's costume reproduces exactly the look of the Tiger that we recall from those sleepy evenings. It's not anthropomorphic, as Disney might have styled it, but truly Tigerish with a face that just takes The Edge of the huge maneater's threat. Even the smallest of children are quickly comforted by the realisation that even though the beast is hungry, its appetite is confined to all the food and all the drink in the house, which is duly gobbled up from plates licked clean in no time. Having led Sophie, her mother and audience in a spot of "tigerobics", our stripey friend takes its leave with fond farewells, leaving the house with no food and no drink and Daddy due home soon for his supper! What on earth's to be done?

With the original story just 32 heavily illustrated pages long, David Wood has expanded the tale a little without ever losing sight of the original work's central theme of an ordinary day that becomes extraordinary. There are catchy tunes, a bit of audience participation and, at 55 minutes running time, a curtain just as the smaller ones in the audience might be wriggling a bit. Ideal for a rainy hour in London for anyone with kids from three to ten, The Tiger Who Came to Tea will enchant little children and those bigger children they call Mummy and Daddy too.

You can read my interview with David Wood, the show's adaptor/director by clicking here.