★★★★★
Review: Wild Boor Ideas The Elves and the Shoemaker, at the Pegasus Theatre until 24 December. Tickets from £9. Book tickets here.
[Disclosure: Our young reviewer and chaperone received free tickets for the purposes of this review.]
The Elves and the Shoemaker is Wild Boor Ideas’ Christmas show, and it’s enchanting. The story begins by introducing the kindly Mrs. Shoemaker and her loyal dog, Boots. Mrs Shoemaker and Boots spend their days in their rickety shoe shop, playfully named “Save Our Soles.” Mrs. Shoemaker is very generous, and has been giving away shoes for free during the winter. Her generosity has left her on the brink of ruin.
The situation becomes increasingly dire for Mrs. Shoemaker and Boots—who are rapidly running out of money, leather, and biscuits. Luckily, two cheeky elves, Ding Dong and Bing Bong, secretly step in to help. They are on a mission to do good deeds in order to get themselves off the naughty list! Throughout the show, we hear the stories of Mrs. Shoemaker's customers, including the Gingerbread Man, among others. In the heartwarming finale, the customers come back and help Mrs Shoemaker and Boots, so that everyone has a wonderful Christmas Day.
Right from the start, the audience was engaged, with cute elf sock puppets handed out at the door. These were a hit with the audience, who played with them before the show. Later the puppets became part of the performance, helping the elves cast a magic spell to make shoes. Audience participation was a key feature throughout the show, with with plenty of opportunities for everyone to join in.
The performances of the characters were also captivating. I particularly enjoyed Ezra Dobson’s performance as Boots. Dobson created many funny moments which involved misunderstandings between Mrs. Shoemaker and Boots, as Mrs. Shoemaker couldn’t speak "dog". Boots kept trying to come up with financial recovery plans for the shoe-shop business—which gave the parents in the audience a laugh—but Mrs. Shoemaker thought Boots just wanted to play fetch.
The performances of Emma Boor as Bing Bong and Krage Brown as Ding Dong had the audience cracking up, with hilarious physical comedy using wonderful, knitted puppets. Finally, Amantha Edmead as Mrs. Shoemaker created a warm and welcoming atmosphere for everyone and set the tone for a lovely, kind production. I thought the performances of the actors were also wonderfully supported by the fantastic sets and costumes. The set was beautifully decorated for Christmas, and the use of a bubble machine had everyone excited. There was also the clever use of patterned boxes to create versatile scene changes and backdrops for the stories of Mrs. Shoemaker’s customers. The costumes were equally ingenious and fun—my favourite elements being the muppet-like Gingerbread Man and the use of hammers for Billy Goat’s feet.
All in all, this show was captivating and magical, with a gentle pantomime feel that sparked excitement and enthusiasm in the very young audience. After the show, the audience had the chance to meet the cast members and take photos with them, which only heightened the thrill. This production truly created a magical atmosphere and certainly got me into the Christmas spirit.
All photos provided by Wild Boor Ideas and taken by David Fisher.
Safe guarding procedures were in place for our young reviewer during the review process.
Comments