The Jingleclaw at Birmingham Hippodrome – review

As the first production from the new Musical Theatre Department at Birmingham Hippodrome, this family-friendly show is small but perfectly formed.

The story, numbers and music have been written by Robyn Grant and Tim Gilvin, who are best known for the hit musical Unfortunate, and while The Jingleclaw is a very different beast from the tale of Ursula the Seawitch, this production revels in a similar treasure trove of imagination.

When the children of an unnamed village come together to make music and celebrate the annual Shnootnoot Festival at the beginning of the snow season, they awaken the forest monster known as the Jingleclaw, who hates festive tunes. Bent on wrecking the festival, the Jingleclaw takes to eating the children but she hasn’t factored in one youngster named Astrid whose love of rock drumming is less harmonious than the rest.

The show is bursting with creativity – from the Moon who acts as narrator and best friend to Astrid through to the puppet bats who just want a quiet night and, of course, the Jingleclaw herself.

Alexia McIntosh, who many will fondly remember as Anna of Cleves in the blockbuster musical Six, steals the show as the Jingleclaw. Strutting around the stage, waving her giant arms and belting out the song “Jingleclaw’s Back”, she dominates the space. Adding in lashings of wicked humour, she gives us a monster who is more sassy than scary and even while she rubs her stomach and promises to munch on the children, we can’t help but love her.

The Jingleclaw costume is a smorgasbord of moving parts including giant furry arms ending in claws, and huge eyes and gaping teeth. Reminiscent of the Spanish artist Joan Miró, these giant eyes and chomping teeth separate from the main body so they can dance around the stage as part of an ensemble or as individual elements.

Laura Cubitt’s movement and puppetry direction brings much of the show alive. Mikayla Teodoro’s bat puppets are cheeky and fun, chasing round the Jingleclaw, hanging upside down and generally causing mayhem.

Charlotte Henery’s sets and costumes are wonderful with each character depicted by their colourful outfits including teacher Ms Whimsy in her crocheted ensemble and the Moon in a Noël Coward-style dressing gown and crescent perched on his head.

The multi-talented cast moves between musical instruments and frequently switches roles. Isabella Gervais is a feisty Astrid who just wants to play music the way she likes it and can’t understand why her drumming isn’t to everyone’s taste. Alex Cardall is a warm-hearted Moon narrator who invites us into the show while Mpilo May gives us a kindly father who loves his daughter and just wants her to be happy. Sue Appleby is suitably fussy as the schoolteacher Ms Whimsy and Miiya Alexandra is Jacob, the first youngster to be swallowed up.

The show features lively and memorable numbers including”My Own Drum” and “Snowball”, alongside the aforementioned “Jingleclaw’s Back” – and there’s a chance for audience members to take part in a bit of singing and dancing too. Directed by Anthony Lau and staged in the Hippodrome’s smaller Patrick Studio, the musical doesn’t pause for a second, each moment being rich in action, character, movement and story.

Lasting an hour, The Jingleclaw’s length is tailored to its target audience of children aged three and above but for those of us who are a little older, it feels a shame that it is so short. When it’s this entertaining, it would be great to have even more to savour.

As a first step in Birmingham Hippodrome’s ambition to create its own ‘goosebump’ theatre, The Jingleclaw is hugely successful and will hopefully have a life well beyond this Christmas.