Zog and the Flying Doctors review – plucky princess and her crew take flight

Cadogan Hall, London
Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s tale about an accident-prone dragon is brought to life with sparky rhymes, nuanced acting and high energy

Freckle Productions specialise in staging Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s brilliant bedtime-saving picturebooks and have got it down to a fine art. Their latest is a high-energy, witty show that is so good my son Benji (three-and-a-half) is left wanting more. He turns to me at the end and asks: “Are we only going to one theatre?”

Composer and lyricist Joe Stilgoe worked on Freckle’s version of Zog and his score for the sequel is brisk and vibrant, threaded through with thoughtful musical motifs and lit up by sparky rhymes (“I’m not joking – there could’ve been no king!”). Every once in a while, Stilgoe’s lyrics trip over themselves in a quest to be a bit too clever and a few gags – particularly one about the NHS (or National Horn Service) – leave Benji confused. But they generally pay homage to Donaldson’s luminous original text without overpowering it.

At Cadogan Hall, London, until 31 August

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