Pinocchio – Hull Truck Theatre

Composer: John Biddle

Writer: Carlo Callodi

Adaptor: Mike Kenny

Director: Mark Babych

Stepping into the enchanting and tricky world of Pinocchio, Hull Truck Theatre premiers its family Christmas offering for 2023 with this classic production.

Written in 1883 by Carlo Callodi of Florence, Italy, this much-loved story of Gepetto the carpenter (James Clyde) and his wooden protégé Pinocchio (Eliza Blair) has delighted children all over the world most notably with Disney 1940 film which gave birth to their iconic and beautiful song When You Wish Upon A Star, and more recently Guillermo Dell Toro’s 2022 stop motion film and the live-action remake of Disney’s version starring Tom Hanks.

Unlike Disney, Mike Kenny’s adaptation sticks much more faithfully to Callodi’s original story. Pinocchio is carved from wood but is magically brought to life and dreams of being a real boy. Pinocchio is a badly behaved boy, who instead of going to school, sells his school book for a ticket to see a puppet show. He then leaves with the travelling puppet show only to find himself nearly chopped up for firewood until the MC (Patrick Dineen) takes pity on him and sends him back to his father with 5 gold coins.

However, on their way home Pinocchio bumps into Fox (Micheal Hugo) and Cat (Joanna Holden) who trick him into planting his gold coins to grow a money tree and then dress as assassins and to steal his coins.

Through many more twists and turns, and help from his guardian blue spirit (Fatima Niemogha), a cricket who lives in his head (Deb Pugh), and of course, a bout of inexplicable nose growing when he lies, Pinocchio finally realises the error of his ways. He is reunited with Gepetto and agrees to be a good boy.

There is a lot to like about this production. The cast is incredibly talented and delivers assured performances in multiple roles with high-class physical clowning. Their interpretations of the characters could easily be passed off as straightforward pantomime baddies and nuanced, well-rounded and give a full picture of what motivates each character to behave the way they do. The chemistry between the cast as an ensemble is the strong point of this performance, each allowing the narrative to shine through with impeccable storytelling.

The costumes by Sian Thomas are stunning and give the entire piece an elegant and refined feel while also allowing the light-hearted humour of the characters to shine through. Against the dark and simple set, they really pop with colour and art making the whole piece look like an Italian fashion show.

The lighting design by Jessie Addinall gives the entire piece the final colourful lift, creating a beautiful colourful world and giving the touch of magic needed.

The high point of the production is an incredible Angle Fish Puppet created by John Barber and Liz Dees, which is fantastically terrifying as it swallows poor Pinocchio down.

One can’t help but feel that the production is trying to do a little too much. With integrated BSL at some points, original music, puppets, clowning and Christmas being shoehorned in through a song at the end. It could benefit from a little more focus.

The music by John Biddle is jolly and foottapping and a musical highlight is the visit to Fun Land. However, the songs are almost indistinguishable from each other, with no big anthemic song for the audience to walk away humming which is the only thing lacking.

The pacing of the show is also quite steady, with no audience participation or moments for a young audience to let their wiggles out. It’s listed as suitable for children aged 7+ and this is a good guideline to follow.

A production that certainly has beauty and style, and is worth a visit for families with older children as a lovely alternative to pantomime.

Runs until 31st December 2023

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