There’s something so special about being immersed into the world of a children’s book, when the characters that we see on page are suddenly made real on stage. Children’s theatre adaptions of popular books sometimes do too much – trying to over engage the audience in a way that can be overwhelming but this stage production of Ross Collins’ There’s a Bear on My Chair was just right. It had the perfect calming balance of storytelling and entertainment which successfully held the attention of my two-year-old.
As we meet Mouse on a normal day at home, settled in his favourite chair, little does he know that his day will be turned upside down by a bear who takes great pleasure in sitting on Mouse’s chair which isn’t big enough to share. Mouse tries everything to get Bear to move but nothing seems to work. But it isn’t long until the tables are turned and Bear finds himself with an unwelcome guest when Mouse won’t leave his house! With great comedic timing and interactive puppeteering this was such a fun production.
The puppeteers did a great job of bringing the characters to life and the stage design maintained the authenticity of the book. We particularly enjoyed the costumes that Bear and Mouse wore at various moments in the production – the mouse house party was hilarious. There were lots of little surprises which kept my little one captivated.
Toby Olié director and puppet co -designer has brought Ross Collins’ work to life in a charming and endearing way.
NEED TO KNOW: There’s a Bear on My Chair is at the Southbank Centre and then on to The Egg, Theatre Royal Bath
Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall
Part of Imagine Festival
18 – 23 February 2025
Tue 2pm
Wed – Fri & Sun 11am & 2pm
Sat 10.30am, 1pm, 3.30pm
BSL: Thu 20 Feb at 11am, Sat 22 Feb at 1pm
Audio Description + Touch Tour: Sun 23 Feb at 2pm
Captions: all performances
From £14
southbankcentre.co.uk
The Egg, Theatre Royal Bath
Thurs 27th Feb-Sun 2nd March
Thur – Fri 10am & 1pm
Sat – Sun 11.30am & 3pm
BSL: Sat 1 Mar at 11.30am
£10 – £12.50
Schools: (Thursday & Friday only) £8.50 each plus one free teacher per 10 tickets booked (11th ticket free)
Captions: all performances
theatreroyal.org.uk
