The Jingleclaw at Birmingham Hippodrome - Review

The Jingleclaw at Birmingham Hippodrome - Review

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Posted 2024-12-18 by dpmfollow

Fri 13 Dec 2024 - Sat 04 Jan 2025


Birmingham Hippodrome has set itself the aim of becoming a producing house of original stagecraft, creating its own Musical Theatre Department and developing works under the banner of My First Theatre. And its first show is certainly a winner.

The Jingleclaw is lively and hugely entertaining with great songs, sets and costumes which dazzle and a story which will capture the imagination of people of all ages.



We begin with actor Alex Cardall, who plays both the Moon and child Hans, introducing himself and bringing us into the story – and from that moment we are hooked. We meet the children in the school band who are busy rehearsing for their annual Shnootnoot Winter Festival but drummer Astrid is quickly in trouble for going off-score and adding in some heady beats.

But all is not well in the village because the music brings out the Jingleclaw, a forest monster who loathes festive music and determines to crush the festival. Will the Jingleclaw succeed or can the children and plucky Astrid fend off the monster and ensure music wins the day?

Alexia McIntosh is a rousing Jingleclaw who towers over the production from the moment she appears. She’s loud, brash and nasty – but in a fun way perfectly encapsulated in the fantastic song Jingleclaw’s Back in which she gives us a potted introduction to her hatred of festive music and her determination to stamp on it.

She is hugely helped by the creative team including Charlotte Henery as set and costume designer and Laura Cubitt as movement and puppetry director.



Isabella Gervais’ Astrid is caught between a desire to be part of the crowd and to do her own thing and we feel her sadness when her enthusiasm leads to her being moved from drums to the triangle.

Mpilo May is her loving dad and mayor while Sue Appleby gives us a suitably censorious schoolteacher and Miiya Alexandra is the violin-playing Jacob.

The creators of the story are Robyn Grant on book and lyrics and Tim Gilvin on music and lyrics. The duo, who also formed part of the creative team on the hit show Unfortunate: The Untold Story of Ursula the Seawitch, have a great grasp of all elements of story and character creation and all the audience will have different moments they can choose as their highlight of the show.

Alongside the main characters there’s also a team of bat puppets designed by Mikayla Teodoro who bring plenty of slapstick and dash around the stage with their cartoon cute faces and big ears.

Directed by Anthony Lau and staged in the Hippodrome’s Patrick Studio the show feels larger than the space, bursting at the seams with colour and life. There’s a bit of audience participation which brings the children into the show and ensures they become part of the story.

But The Jingleclaw won’t just appeal to children – there are a few topical jokes for adults and who can’t enjoy watching a monster stomp around the stage chasing children?

It’s also great to see the Hippodrome plundering Midlands talent with Cardall from Solihull and McIntosh and Appleby having studied their craft in Birmingham.

The Jingleclaw is a magnificent debut from the Hippodrome and we can only hope to see future shows of the same standard.

#theatre_shows
#arts_culture
#family_friendly
#christmas

%wnbirmingham
299607 - 2024-12-18 09:14:09

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