Whatever your age, you’ll find something to love in Fantastic Mr Fox at Cambridge Arts Theatre.
Beautifully adapted from the much-loved Roald Dahl children’s book by Sam Holcroft, the production brings the story to life with lots of humour, tons of singing and dancing and just enough jeopardy to keep kids and adults alike on the edge of their seats.
The bad guys – farmers Boggis, Bunce and Bean – are delightfully grim, and the good guys – Mr Fox himself, his family and animal friends – charming and energetic. But life is rarely black and white, and the production shows us the sometimes tricky choices that even the cutest characters often face when survival is at stake. There’s also a brilliant subplot about teamwork, as Mr Fox discovers that he can’t achieve his aims alone, but has to get his friends on board with all their many different talents.
Our 9-year-old reviewer, Jamie, was particularly impressed by the on-stage band of birds, who rocked out with guitar, bass and drums to provide the play’s musical element. “The band were awesome,” he says, “and all the actors were really good singers too. I liked the songs, and I still had them in my head when I went to bed afterwards!” this will be music to the ears of Arthur Darvill – Dr Who’s Rory, and the hipster vicar from Broadchurch – who composed the play’s soundtrack with the aim of ‘making sure the music tells the story in the best way we can tell it’.
Fantastic Mr Fox runs at Cambridge Arts Theatre until Saturday 13 May. Tickets from £18
