My Son Pinocchio

The British Theatre Academy’s production of My Son Pinocchio at the Southwark Playhouse is a musical which will inspire young actors to take to the stage with an impressive cast of young performers giving it their all. Clearly a performance well-rehearsed, it's wonderfully choreographed by Holly Hughes and director Seimi Campbell makes ideal use of a small stage setting. The musical numbers enthusiastically performed by the young cast who are a pleasure to watch (Joy Clark, the Blue Fairy has a particularly fine voice) and among the young cast members are a few shining sparks whose lights we are likely to see more often in the future. The play runs non-stop for a little over an hour and is an ideal summer holiday treat for the family.

'Pinocchio' is the story of a lonely craftsman wanting a son, wanting someone to love, but the power of the story lies in the discovery that a young boy is not as easy as a puppet to do with what you want. This musical version stays closer to the original story, where the relationship between father and son is more problematic than in the Disney movie, where the temptations and misadventures of Pinocchio all happen outside of the watchful eye of his ever-loving father. This has more of the moral dilemma of the original and succeeds in making it new while keeping enough of the film references for lovers of the classic Disney film version.