The Snail and the Whale (Bristol)

Tall Stories Theatre Company bring the children’s classic tale , The Snail and The Whale by Julia Donaldson to life with their wonderful mix of comedy, music and audience participation, keeping the young audience enthralled as they told the great adventure.

Using live music performed by Eva Tausig who is also the Narrator, the story unfolds at a steady pace; offering up an interesting device by having the story told by a father away at sea Patrick Bridgman and it is his interaction with his daughter Susanna Jennings that creates a great a compelling and emotive retelling of such a well known story.

The energy, commitment and ability of the three cast members transports the audience to far off places and allow the much anticipated whale to appear in a highly creative way.

This is a show for the younger members of the audience as the humour and games lend themselves to the lower end of the suggested age bracket of 4 and given the response of the 7 year old accompanying me, I wonder if the upper age limit of 10 set for this production is wholly accurate.

That aside, it is a good family show, the running time of 45 minutes just about right; the level of skill and creativity from this excellent company is not missed by the adults, especially with the twist at the end of the piece linking the narrator back into the story lets the production sit on a whole new level.