As is often the case with the most interesting children's stories, the violence that underpins Pinocchio may come as a bit of a surprise to those weaned on cartoon versions. After all, when the wooden-top has been fleeced by the wily fox and cat, he is hung and left for dead. Michael Rosen's version doesn't shirk this, but he leavens the piece with his trademark off-kilter humour. The naughtiness works well for the puppet who is constantly tempted to do the wrong thing and who is played with zest and charm by Ian Street.
Laura McEwen's bits-and-bobs design is ingenious, suggesting an attic full of props that are the property of the disorganised travelling theatre company engaged to give their version of The Adventures of Pinocchio. When they discover that their puppet is missing, they have to draft in the cleaner. The stage becomes gradually less cluttered until every item you can see has been used somewhere in the production.
It's a neat idea, with suitcases turned into beds and grilles becoming the mouth to the shark's belly where Pinocchio is reunited with his father, but Roman Stefanski's production needs more of this invention, and when things plod along, you wonder what a company such as Kneehigh or Told By An Idiot might have done with this material. Some of the performances lack oomph, and it isn't Philippa Buxton's fault that the Blue Fairy is one of the more irritating characters of children's literature. It's a solid show, certainly no piece of wood, but slightly lacking in magic.
