Oh No, George! review – playful pooch's tail-wagging caper

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No pot plant or bin is safe in Can’t Sit Still’s pleasingly physical adaptation of Chris Haughton’s picturebook

Can’t Sit Still? What a brilliant name for a children’s theatre company! It’s also particularly fitting for this highly physical adaptation of Chris Haughton’s popular picturebook about a lovable pooch who can’t help causing a rumpus.

The company’s spring tour of the show, commissioned by Stockton’s ARC and the Civic in Barnsley, has been cut short by coronavirus, so a streamed version is available online for a week. My daughters Hilda (six) and Aggie (10) and I agree: it’s tail-waggingly good.

Hilda is the only one who has read the book: it’s “half-funny” she tells us. “George is naughty,” she adds, excitedly. “He does everything he’s not told to.” So when Harris leaves George home alone for the day, guess what happens to the delicious cake? And Harris’s prize-winning plants? And is that a puppet cat strolling into view? Oh no, George …

Red of fur, droopy of ear and utterly irrepressible, Rosy Roberts is a delight, whether clinging to the long-suffering Harris (David Insua-Cao) or disappearing headfirst into a bin. “He’s a bit more purple in the book,” thinks Hilda, but we love the George costume made by Ruth Watkin. Laura McEwen’s wonky-walled set design matches the offbeat humour and, in an inspired move, Insua-Cao doubles as a drummer, providing a frantic rhythm to accompany George’s boundless enthusiasm. One clever bit of commotion ends with a pile of furniture spelling out Oh No. George and Harris share a quick-stepping, bum-scratching dance duet when they go walkies and in another super routine, you’ll believe a dog can fly.

This 45-minute recording was made in a studio space for archive purposes rather than to be watched at home and is rudimentary: it’s like watching from the back row, and you wish for more closeups of the actors’ expressions. There are a couple of lulls, and I’d imagined any audience interaction would fall flat when you’re sat in front of a computer rather than amid the mayhem. However, the actors provoke some sparky retorts from the kids in the theatre, and both my girls find these bits hilarious.

The show is designed for three- to eight-year-olds and aside from some stern warnings from Harris it’s mostly wordless, though Insua-Cao delivers lyrics while pounding the drum kit. The finale, which answers the book’s final question and involves all the kids in the auditorium, makes Hilda sigh: “I wish I was in the audience.” This is a fantastic introduction to a company we can’t wait to experience live.

Contributor

Chris Wiegand

The GuardianTramp

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