Richard Davies recommends young families to "come-bye" Wimbledon’s Polka Theatre to see “Babe the Sheep Pig”, a delightful musical play for children.
David Monteith-Hodge / Photograp
The Polka Theatre describes itself as the place "where theatre begins". With this charming new production of David Wood’s play, based on the classic farmyard tale by Dick King-Smith, it more than lives up to its billing. The first throaty giggles of childrens’ laughter began before the play had even started, as the stage slowly filled up with sheep. The first word of dialogue – “meh” – got as big a laugh as I’ve heard in a while for an opening line. It was followed, perhaps predictably, by a “bah” that also resulted in loud guffaws. Whoever thought that sheep could be so hilariously funny?
Before you ask, the sheep are not real sheep; they are actors in sheep’s clothing. And nor is Babe a real pig, which was the question that most intrigued my daughter and her friends in the car on the way to the show. Babe is in fact a puppet. And a rather small one at that. But he is, after all, only a young piglet.
In case you’ve neither seen the film, nor read the book, “Babe the Sheep Pig” is the heartwarming story of a piglet who comes to live at Hogget’s Farm and dodges his date with the sausage-making machine by discovering a remarkable talent for sheep herding. Is this down to nature or nurture, you might ask? True, Babe receives some expert coaching from Fly, the trusty old family sheep dog who adopts him as her own. But in reality, Babe’s success derives from his innate insight that sheep are more likely to be compliant if you “ask them nicely”. Thanks to his impeccable manners, Babe becomes an unlikely contender at the Grand Sheep Herding Trials.
David Monteith-Hodge / Photographise
There’s so much to enjoy about this delightful production. As far as farmyard impersonations go, the actors cast as sheep are pure method school with their shuffling gait, shoulder shaking and tail wagging. There is some thrilling ‘War Horse’ style puppetry choreographed by Matthew Forbes, particularly the ‘sheep-bothering’ dog that brings out the hero inside Babe. This heart-rending retelling of the Beth Gelert myth has the fearless little pig staring up the wrong end of Farmer Hoggett’s shotgun in a cliff hanging pre-interval scene.
The set and costumes designed by Madeleine Girling perfectly evoke the feel of a working sheep farm, while Mr & Mrs Foggett in their apple-cheeked face masks look a little like marionettes themselves. Also, the music by Barnaby Race lifts the production to another level, with haunting celtic melodies and good ol’ barnstomping beats, while the cast successfully pull off some quite ambitious vocal harmonies, aided by the excellent sound production.
If I had one niggle, and it’s only a small one, it is that Babe is barely bigger than Basil Brush, has no facial expressions and is manipulated by a cast member dressed as a sheep. If Babe herds the sheep, why is he being controlled by one?
The play is recommended for children aged 4-11 and there are special performances for those who want to bring younger children. Fortunately, there is no upper age limit, as my fourteen year-old daughter and her friends loved every minute, though it's just possible that they're not entirely representative of their age group.
Babe is on at Wimbledon's Polka Theatre until December 17. For tickets visit polkatheatre.com
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