Cheer isn’t just for Christmas, and I think it’s safe to say we all appreciate a pick-me-up around this time while we’re waiting for spring to kick in. When I was invited to London to see the show (on in Oxford in March) back in January, Mother Goose served as exactly that.
Similar to Oxford’s New Theatre, The Duke of York – as grand as it may be – is intimate enough in size that you actually feel a little star-struck as the cast enter the stage. If you try hard enough, you can even convince yourself that you’ve caught eye contact with one of them.
The plot served as the perfect opportunity to shine a big fat spotlight on the cost-of-living crisis. Requests for angry shouts to ‘The Energy Company’ really roused passion in the audience. I often need a bit of help coming out of my shell at more interactive performances but if there’s anything that was going to encourage me to get involved, it was that.
Each and every character was perfectly executed, from Richard Leeming’s slightly unhinged portrayal of the bat to the goosebump-worthy voice of Sharon Ballard who played Encanta. What shone through, though, was Ian McKellen’s deep and intrinsic understanding of what we all desperately needed – a bit of fun. From the moment he walked on stage he had everyone in stitches, which at certain points included his fellow cast members.
If you’re looking for a pick me up this March, or maybe a Mother’s Day gift for your own Mother Goose, it is the embodiment of pure and unadulterated joy. I challenge anyone to have a care in the world while in the audience of this show – whoever you are, whatever your age, you’ll have fun, I promise.
For the full review, keep an eye out for the March edition of OX Magazine.
