★★★★★
Based on Roald Dahl and Quentin Blake’s beloved 1978 children’s picture book, The Enormous Crocodile first debuted at Leeds Playhouse in 2023 before it swam to Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre in 2024. Now he’s slithering his way through the UK in an attempt to gobble up children and satiate his ever-growing hunger, and what better place than Lowry, which is currently exhibiting Blake’s work just one floor away from the action!
The show follows the Enormous Crocodile (Chelsea Da Silva) as he devises “secret plans and clever tricks” to lure and consume children. The only creatures that stand in his way are loyal elephant Trunky (Precious Abimbola), mischievous monkey Muggle Wump (Marienella Phillips), flatulent scaredy hippo Humpy Rumpy (Jordan Eskeisa), and narcissistic Roly Poly Bird (Ciara Hudson). Will the children be safe? Will the audience also end up on the menu?
The ambience is palpable as soon as you enter the theatre with buzzy bees bobbing around the audience, streams of floating bubbles, funky jungle percussion, chirping crickets, and a myriad of cawing birdcalls. Fly Davis’ stage is filled with whimsical greenery of all shapes and sizes with a collage of leaves and stripy green lights framing the jungle scenes, all interlaced with patches of “itchy bottomus” plants and throngs of tall pampas grass. A warm sunset backdrop adds a bold pop of colour, complimented neatly by Jessica Hung Han Yun’s lively lighting. It’s as if Blake’s charming illustrations have sprung to life!
The magic continues with Toby Olié incredible puppetry, re-envisioning Dahl’s slew of crazy critters as a variety of functional headpieces, hand-puppets, and ride-on carts. Each multi-rolling actor is decorated with Davis’ costumes, alternating between grassy headdresses with denim dungarees, jungle-leaf morph suits, and character-specific suits. There’s a whirring world of shy sugar gliders, crafty crocodiles, silly snails, bothered birds, nimble monkeys, and stretchy-legged frogs. While most characters are posable heads and simple hand-puppets, the range of expression is wild! More ambitious pieces range from the elephant’s towering head and twirling trunk attached via a stabilising rod to the actor’s back, the hilarious adult-faced “children” with puppet body bibs, and the enormous crocodile of course.
Initially, the titular antagonist appears as a giant crocodile head floating through the river, followed by other weaving scales. When on land, we’re treated to the visual spectacle that is the croc mobile, an audacious, rideable crocodile body with detachable features, accented with Da Silva’s green hair, pixellated croc pants, and pointy clawed shoes. Chelsea Da Silva’s crocodile is exhilarating with wide-eyed, cheeky expressions, and snarling deliveries.
The finale is particularly amusing, twinkling stars and glowing planets transporting us to space as a tiny puppet crocodile hurtles towards the sun, culminating in a hilariously absurd final costume involving a sausage and angel wings.
Each segment is intercut with a variety of chaotic, fun-filled audience interactions, asking questions, throwing foam-nuts (one kid absolutely sniping Da Silva), revving up the audience, and showing us the moves for a final dance-along accompanied by smoke bubbles and funky lights.
Ahmed Abdullahi Gallab’s delightfully snappy score strikes the right chord, each song finding the right balance between jungle jazz, bold ballads, and dynamic disco… just a shame there isn’t much croc ‘n roll!
Suhayla El-Bushra’s book and lyrics maintain the story’s legacy, summarising a few segments and adding extra gags to spice things up for younger audiences. The punchy 60-minute story feels just long enough to revel in this odd-ball world, yet short enough to keep the kids’ attention.
While The Enormous Crocodile is aimed at kids, I was astounded by Emily Lim’s bold direction. It’s a visual feast, filled with a menagerie of lovable, intricately crafted characters, immersive landscapes, witty humour, and a toe-tapping score filled with catchy earworms. It’s a show with plenty of bite, sure to entertain the whole family.
Roald Dahl’s The Enormous Crocodile The Musical runs at Lowry (Lyric Theatre) until January 4 and tours the UK until August 22.
Photo: Danny Kaan
JADAR 