Anna Burnside reviews a children’s show filled with potential but in need of a few more tweaks.
In Mama Mouse’s adorable tree stump house, the three little mice are being vile. Will a bedtime story with an improving message help them address their issues? It’s got to be worth a try.
Enter the three characters from Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffer’s 2022 book The Baddies. Here are Witch, Troll and Ghost, with costumes and props straight off pages which are clearly familiar to most of the audience.
This trio revel in being ill-tempered and obnoxious, exhibiting the very characteristics that exasperated Mama Mouse as she attempted to shoo them into bed.
And so in comes the moral of the story, with all the subtlety of Troll brandishing his club. When the gruesome threesome are challenged to steal a little girl’s hanky, their attempts to frighten, bamboozle and trick her fail completely. She outwits them by being polite, considerate and kind.
All the elements of this show are in place - strong songs by Joe Stilgoe, a clever and delightful set, recognisable characters brought to life. Yet it fails to burst into flames.
Lottie May O’Kill’s Mama Mouse has a prissy, Julie Andrews energy. Ghost and Witch, while hapless and clownish, lack the knockabout humour that the target audience of three-to-six-year-olds desire.
They were not quite sure when and how to join in, which is never good in a kids’ show.
From an adult’s perspective, the framing device did not quite work, and the ending could have taken a few fireworks rather than a group hugging anthem about the importance of being kind.
With Scheffer and Donaldson’s IP, the elements of a great children’s show are all there. A few tweaks and this could be it.
The Baddies performs at the Royal Lyceum in Edinburgh until October 20, 2024. For further details, go to the theatre’s website.
Photo by Jess Shurte.
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