Regent’s Park Open Air theatre, London
Fun songs and exciting immersive touches delight children and adults alike in a lively picture book adaptation from actor Cush Jumbo and Katy Sechiari
‘Ha ha!” laughs my six-year-old as a knitted mole pops out of the ground and sneakily drinks a carton of Ribena. There’s a lot of amusement and delight in this lively adaptation of the kids’ picture book Bear Snores On, originally created by Karma Wilson and Jane Chapman, and given new life here by co-writers and directors Katy Sechiari and Cush Jumbo (the actor, quite the switch of direction since her last role playing Lady Macbeth).
A group of animals shelter from a storm in the cave of a hibernating bear, and after a short alfresco intro we join them inside, in a specially created space (so actual inclement weather won’t disrupt the show too much). We get there through a tunnel lit up by the LED wristbands we’ve all been given, a nice immersive touch. “That was really exciting. The wristbands were amazing!” says my son Jamie, who’s also very impressed by some UV light effects on the cave walls – designer Rebecca Brower has done a great job, especially on the chunky knitted costumes that give Mouse, Badger and Hare a Central Saint Martins meets Gardeners’ World kind of vibe.
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