Review: Stick Man Live brings children’s classic to life for young theatre-goers

In the past few days, Baby Boy has been walking around with a brown and not-so-cuddly soft toy, and saying: “Ho, ho, ho!” like Father Christmas. This is how he’s pretending to do a rerun of Stick Man Live, which has quickly become a favourite topic of conversation.

Popular children’s picture book Stick Man by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler is brought to life in the Scamp Theatre and Freckle Productions’ stage adaptation Stick Man Live, now back in London’s West End for the Christmas season. The show, recommended for children aged 3 and over, is playing at Leicester Square Theatre until 7 January 2018 and we were invited to see the show to review.

Stick Man Live tells the story about Stick Man who goes on a jog from the family tree and is unwillingly taken further away from his home, away from his Stick Lady and Stick Children.

With a minimalist set, puppetry, projections and plenty of audience interaction, the entertaining show is a treat for young theatre-goers, who can help point and shout “there, there” when Stick Man is being chased around the seat rows by the dog, and do the same again when Father Christmas is looking for the family tree and needs help to find the way.

The production features catchy songs from the get-go, and the Stick family is made of cute little puppets, which Big Boy liked. The trip to Leicester Square made for a fun morning out for the two of us, and one that our little chatterbox can’t stop talking about.

I bought him a Stick Man toy on the way out of the theatre, and it’s become an important part of his soft toy collection and has even made it to nursery as a soother for nap time. Go Stick Man!

Photos by Steve Ullathorne

Tags: Book, Children's theatre, Julia Donaldson, Preschoolers, Review, Stage adaptation, Stick Man