Horrid Henry – Live & Horrid! (Sheffield & tour)

Friday evening after school, and Studio One was packed with Horrid Henry fans: well-behaved children who like the idea of being naughty but are actually quite nice. Noisy, though. They made their presence felt. I knew things were going according to plan when a sticky worm landed in my hair and the announcement about mobile phones included a loud raspberry.

In the honourable tradition of My Naughty Little Sister and Just William, Henry is the kind of child parents hate to love but just can’t help it. The word “live” in the title is a reminder that Henry is a television star, but he is also a publishing phenomenon. His creator, Francesca Simon, is second only to J K Rowling in sales terms – and, indeed, caused something of a stir when she took her seat to watch the performance.

Adapted by playwright John Godber, this rollicking show arrives in London on tour from Sheffield. Hannah Chissick’s production is slick, sure of itself, confident in its relationship with primary school-age children. But the important thing is that, in Godber’s hands, it is genuine theatre. There is spectacle on offer and the chance to groove along (sometimes in the aisles) with the Killer Boy Rats, Henry’s favourite masked and madly-coiffed band, but imagination is – thank goodness – still required.

Godber has had the brilliant idea of introducing two Henrys: Steven Tagg as Horrid Henry argues that if it is his show and he is so terrific, there can be two of him, so he is joined by a doppelganger, Horrid Henry Too, played by Stephen McGill. This allows for quick changes and a welcome flexibilty in story-telling. Both Henrys sport reddish wigs and the trademark striped jumper invented by expert artist Tony Ross, but children familiar with a boy-drawing have to make a mental leap to accept two young three-dimensional men as their favourite schoolboy anti-hero. The young fan sitting next to me said she was managing to imagine the familiar face on top of the hyperactive actors. Such is the magic of theatre.

Pip Leckenby’s set, with its multiple hatches, and the cast in their paint-box costumes and wigs maintain a cartoonish element. Perfect Peter (Alex Tregear), for instance, has the expected piping voice and blond bubble curls of Henry’s sweet but gullible brother, while Miss Battle-Axe (Philip Bosworth) is all droopy cardigan and angular knees.

The plot is episodic, including adventures with hapless parents, a tough teenage babysitter and a new boy whose opera-buff parents sport Wagnerian outfits.
It all goes down a treat. But this is the commercial end of Christmas seasonal entertainment – that flying worm had escaped from some of the ubiquitous Horrid Henry merchandise – and it would be a shame if parents, in their Horrid enthusiasm, failed to notice the less strident offerings happening elsewhere.

-Heather Neill

NOTE: The following THREE-STAR review dates from August 2008 when this production was on tour.

As someone whose knowledge of Horrid Henry was previously limited to seeing titles in bookshops and television listings in newspapers, I feel somewhat at a disadvantage compared to the full house of 4-8 year olds to whom Henry is clearly an old friend. Their reaction to meeting him was amiable rather than ecstatic, with more attention than excitement.

John Godber’s adaptation of Horrid Henry Live and Horrid! for Watershed Productions uses the device of “If I were king/If I had my own show” to unify the adventures of Francesca Simon’s latterday Just William (or is it Dennis the Menace?). Henry has assorted adventures: performing in the dance class, cheating at football to win tickets for the Cup-tie, putting the fierce baby sitter to flight, and so on. These are linked by his claims that, if it’s his show, he can alter the stories to suit himself. Occasional appearances by Henry’s favourite rock group work well, with pleasingly simple anthems heavily featuring the words “horrid” and “Henry”.

Overall the narrative lacks forward momentum: the “story”, as such, is Henry’s attempt to reshape his life. Individual scenes have pace and wit, the ingeniously choreographed football match, for instance, that eventually rewinds in response to Henry’s demands as impresario of his own show. In between, though, the pace is set by Henry’s narration. Even the lively finale, the safe standby of a burst of rock music, is introduced by, “If I had my own show, this is how it would end.”

The lack of involvement may also have something to do with finding the right level for a very youthful public. It certainly has nothing to do with any failings of the cast. Steven Butler has to work hard to convince us that he really is very naughty, but he is an engaging and energetic Henry, nicely supported by Stephen McGill who is Henry Too and helps out when there’s too much for one! Alex Tregear’s Perfect Peter is a delight and Philip Bosworth excels in a splendidly versatile ensemble, gleefully switching accent, costume and gender.

Pip Leckenby’s plain set may not be strong on magic, but the multiple doors and windows are well suited to sudden appearances and disappearances and her costume designs are clever and colourful. Hannah Chissick directs with cartoon-strip precision, though sometimes the effort to entertain is rather too obvious.

– Ron Simpson