The Tale of Mr Tod is on until 31st December – to check out details of dates, times and tickets visit their website or call the box office on 01473 603388
We are so lucky in Ipswich to have such a choice of Christmas shows, and Red Rose Chain Theatre Company always supply a family show that is an alternative to the traditional pantomimes on offer. This year their artistic director, Joanna Carrick, has adapted a classic Beatrix Potter tale for the stage and a cast of 3 very versatile actors play all the parts.
The Tale of Mr Tod is a joyously fun version of how Tommy Brock kidnaps Benjamin Bunny’s and Flopsy’s 7 children (all of them twins) and intends to turn them into a rabbit stew. He’s going to cook up this delight at his arch rival Mr Tod’s house so, with some assistance from Mrs Tiggywinkle, Benjamin enlists cousin Peter Rabbit to help him get his children back home in time for Christmas.
All three actors switch from part to part, and accent to accent with ease, in a fast paced show perfect for all the family, but particularly young children. There’s lots of audience participation and opportunities for you to really feel part of the action. Red Rose Chain pride themselves on making everyone feel welcome and included and this style of theatre sums up everything they are about.
Set in the attic of an old country house in Suffolk, where a new family have moved in, the costumes and props first appear as if junk stored away for another day. This gives the piece a feeling of dressing up and playing, as the children ‘act out’ the story and find themselves immersed in the tale.
Jack Heydon goes from surly teenager to villainous fox,the devilishly devious Mr Tod, and he also plays poor nervous Benjamin Bunny – no mean feet to transition from three such different characters so seamlessly.
Evangeline Dickson starts as a slightly more optimistic teen who wants to know about the stories in the attic, then flits from a feisty Flopsie Bunny to Peter Rabbit, played as a streetwise New Yorker, which is a lovely contrast to the reticent Benjamin.
Emily Jane Kerr is Beatrix herself at the start of the play who shows the children how lively stories can be, then displays a talent for quirky accents as a Geordie Tommy Brock and a Welsh Mrs Tiggywinkle with great comedy and expression.
If you want something a bit different for the family this Christmas, away from the razzamatazz of panto, that’s rooted in traditional storytelling and acted with playful charm, then this is the show for you.
The Tale of Mr Tod plays until 31st December – check out details of dates, times and tickets by visiting Red Rose Chain’s website or call the box office on 01473 603388
SUFFOLK THEATRE 