Review: Roald Dahl’s Fantastic Mr Fox arrives with a bang at Lyric Hammersmith

In the last week Big Girl and I have read Roald Dahl’s Fantastic Mr Fox, a story I remembered from my own childhood. We were getting ready for attending the press night at Lyric Hammersmith on Friday to celebrate Roald Dahl’s Fantastic Mr Fox arriving on stage at the London theatre.

Knowing the story, I was expecting the show to be a bit brutal, and it was from the get-go. It started with a bang. Birds were singing on stage and a farmer appeared with a shotgun from above where we were seated.

It was a surprise opening, and one that set the scene for the rest of the witty, but at times brutal show.

The classic children’s book tells the story of Mr Fox who steals food from three farms, and the angry, horrible farmers Boggis, Bunce and Bean team up to kill the clever fox, trying different techniques to catch him. Mr Fox has to hatch a plan to save his wife and four children and the other animals stuck underground without food, and he digs and digs to save the day.

The stage show, which seems almost like a musical with live music and songs, is funny, but it differs from the book in terms of the plot.

In the show, Mrs Fox is pregnant and Mr Fox doesn’t want help from her or their daughter. He teams up with Mole, Badger, Rabbit and Mouse, who come on the first mission, but after failing to get any food, Mr Fox wants to go it alone and doesn’t want help from anyone else. He later realises he needs his friends and family to succeed, and the last catchy tune repeats the words: ‘adventure never ends when you’ve got fantastic friends.’

For Big Girl, it didn’t matter that the show deviated from the plot in the book, but I had been hoping to see a show that was more true to the story I remembered reading growing up. It is, however, a funny production, and I was laughing out loud several times. Big Girl was also very into the digging scenes, and was most probably the only one in the audience who was sitting in her seat digging with her hands like the animals on stage.

For those sitting around us, there were other jokes that made them laugh, such as the loud bunny dressed in a shiny leotard and bright pink bumbag who talks about her love life, and the farmers who brought Roald Dahl’s Fantastic Mr Fox into 2017 when commenting they wanted to put the fox on their Instagram feed. All this–coupled with the animal costumes that four-and-a-half-year-old Big Girl dubbed ‘interesting’–makes Roald Dahl’s Fantastic Mr Fox feel like a contemporary and modern show.

I’m not surprised there appeared to be a majority of adults in the audience on Friday, and although the show is advertised as being recommended from 5 years and above, I think the shot guns and language will mean many parents will see it as more appropriate for older children or even for a date night. In my view, the witty show may be best suited for older Roald Dahl fans, who come prepared for an innovative and entertaining musical show.

Road Dahl’s Fantastic Mr Fox is playing at Lyric Hammersmith until 19 February before going on a UK tour, and the show is the flagship production of the Roald Dahl centenary celebrations

Tags: Children's theatre, Fantastic Mr Fox, Lyric Hammersmith, Review, Roald Dahl