Review: Tom Gates Live for celebrating the popular books with laughs and cool music

When we arrived at Richmond Theatre on Wednesday to review Tom Gates Live, I had to text a friend to say how much I loved the atmosphere. The theatre was full of parents and children carrying their favourite Tom Gates books around, and it all seemed like a continuation of World Book Day and a celebration of reading.

Liz Pichon’s Tom Gates book series has seen huge success, being translated to 43 languages and selling more than 8 million copies worldwide. The series currently includes 15 books–a 16th due out in May–and now also a live show.

Instead of simply bringing one book to life through a stage adaptation, the Tom Gates Live show, produced by The Birmingham Stage Company, surprised us with a completely new story about Tom Gates and his friends.

In the show, Tom Gates (played by Matthew Chase) has three sad faces on the class achievement chart, and he’s working hard to be allowed to go on the school trip. At home, the challenges continue, and it’s proving difficult for Tom to stay out of trouble when he’s accidentally doodling in the wrong places and damages his mum’s vintage dress midst preparations for his grandparents second wedding to each other.

Tom Gates Live makes for a great theatre experience for tweens who have long grown out of picture book adaptations and will enjoy a lighthearted and funny show that is pure entertainment. Clever projections made us feel like we’d entered the doodling world of Tom Gates, and the groovy music in between scenes had theatre-goers dancing in their seats. The second act seemed particularly fast-paced, with some brilliant lyrics and catchy music from Tom Gates and his Dude3 band.

My favourite character in the show was Tom’s teenage sister Delia (played by Amy Hargreaves), who wore black clothes and sunglasses inside, and her moody remarks kept making us giggle. We also adored the hot dog car, which Tom’s dad took Tom and his friends for a drive in, and the wedding arch made out of light-up crutches and wheeled walking frames was another prop favourite.

In addition to making for a wonderful evening out, I feel the show can help inspire reading and promote a love for books. We’ve at least gone and bought another Tom Gates book today!

Tom Gates Live is currently on tour and the show is playing at Richmond Theatre until 24 March

Photo by Mark Douet

Tags: Birmingham Stage Company, Liz Pichon, Richmond Theatre, Tom Gates