The Smartest Giant in Town

What happens when a musical adaptation of a well-known children’s picture book is brought to the stage as a musical puppet filled adventure. In the case of Leeds Carriageworks, you have a theatre full of young children who sit enthralled for a full hour by the action and songs. Looking at the faces of the young children around me I could see they were completely spellbound by the story.

The original tale by Julia Donaldson and Alex Scheffler has been adapted for the stage by the artistic director of Little Angel Theatre Samantha Lane, who also directed the show, with music by Barb Jungr. Co-produced by Little Angel Theatre and Fierylight who have a long track record for bringing many TV cartoons and storybooks to life for young audiences.

All the characters in the story are brought to life by puppets designed by Judith Hope that look uncannily like the illustrations from the book and are skilfully manipulated and brought to life by two of the three actors in the show, James Kenningdale and Hannah Bainbridge, whilst the third member of the cast, Duane Gooden, embodies the giant perfectly.

The three actors work well together moving the larger props to make up different scenes and using different accents and voices for the characters they are portraying, at times in conversation with themselves as they bring to life two puppets at the same time.

The story follows George, the giant, who is transformed from the scruffiest giant into a well-dressed giant after he sees a new shop selling giant size clothes. Proudly walking through the town in his brand-new shirt and trousers, tie, shoes and socks he meets a series of animals all who desperately need help and big-hearted George comes up with a solution for each of them. As he strolls through the town a Giraffe with a cold neck, a goat with a boat that needs a new sail, a mouse who needs a new house, a fox that needs a sleeping bag and a dog that needs a path through a bog are all helped by George until he has given all his new clothes away. Finding his old clothes George puts them back on, but the animals see all that he has done for them, and they surprise him with a crown and a card to let them know what he means to them.

It is a heart-warming story which tells us what real friendship means and has a message for us all about helping those in need that seems pertinent to us all at this time. If we are to retain live theatre as an artform then bringing shows to young children is important and theatre companies, producers, directors and actors who can deliver such shows with so much heart and obvious joy for their craft is essential to its long-term future.

The Smartest Giant in Town Leeds Carriageworks To Sat 19th April