Pinocchio pantomime at Stratford East – review

As fairytales go Pinocchio, Stratford East’s choice of pantomime for 2024, is a difficult story to make an evening out of. It’s strange, particularly dark, and very episodic, following the puppet boy as he gets himself stuck and unstuck from various conundrums and tries to make his way through unscathed, against a world full of those who want to do him harm.

Trish Cooke and Robert Hyman’s version of the story does well as soon as we’ve landed in any given location, deftly aided by Omar F Okai’s smooth direction and Claudimar Neto’s energetic choreography. The set pieces, such as the fake theme park Playland and the school that Pinocchio finally makes it to, are particularly strong and mark when the show is really at its best. Getting us between locations in a gratifying way, however, proves difficult, and it takes a while to settle into the show at the start. There’s not quite enough time given to understand Geppetto and Pinocchio’s relationship before they’re separated.

Similarly, our baddies Sly Fox and Miss Cat are great, wonderfully juicy villains, but it’s not quite clear why they’re going after Pinocchio, and particularly why they’re going after him for as long as they do. Even Pinocchio’s eventual desire to become a real boy feels a bit under-explored and tacked on – it’s there because it ought to be, rather than because it makes sense for this version of the tale.

The performances are all great though, and go a long way to sell these potential stumbles – particularly Nicole Louise Lewis as friendly cricket Krik Krak, who serves both to get Pinocchio back on the right path and has excellent crowd work to bring the audience back in; and Tok Morakinyo, who plays Geppetto with a lovely warmth and then a distinct series of the strange figures Pinocchio meets on his journey. The choreography is also spectacular, and the cast absolutely committed.

Similarly, the world of the show is visually stunning, with wonderful design from the whole team – Stewart J Charlesworth’s set and costume designs in particular are both gorgeous and thorough. He builds Stratty Ash as a patchwork town, with fairy lights and tinsel patching it up like a spilled-out decoration box, and there are charming details like the trainers Geppetto carves for Pinocchio, and the fairy wings for the Blue Rinse Fairy. The original music for the show is also excellent – catchy songs that feel like a poppy contemporary musical, performed by a wonderful band, who are led expertly by musical director Nick Barstow. It fills the show with energy, both earnest and comic, and bounces the show along nicely.

Although the show sometimes can wear its morals too heavily, there are plenty of moments of tongue-in-cheek humour and silliness, and it’s an enchanting evening. Particularly for fans of the story, young and old, this is a Pinocchio ready for its contemporary audience.