James and the Giant Peach (Darlington)

James and the Giant Peach tells the story of how poor James loses his parents in a tragic rhinoceros accident and goes to live with his vile Aunt Spiker and Aunt Sponge. And how, with a touch of magic, he escapes in a giant peach aided and abetted by giant talking insects.

With a mixture of live acting, puppets, curtain changes, clever songs and music and interaction from the audience we were treated to a fabulous evening of theatre fun. Tom Gillies shows his baby face with a believable performance of young James and Claire Greenway and Sioned Saunders deserve a mention for their hideous portrayals of Aunts Sponge and Spiker.

The Birmingham Stage Company shows yet again how they have cornered the market in adapting classic children’s literature and turns it in to excellent family entertainment. A sure sign of its winning formula is that the theatre was full of children and they all sat captivated by the show.

I would strongly recommend you turn off the Wi-Fi and PS3 and the Wii and take the children to Darlington Civic to see classic literature brought to life in front of your eyes

- by Lindsay Sykes