Emily Brown and the Thing

Cressida Cowell’s Emily Brown books are close to becoming modern classics for young children, and the story of her night-time encounter with an enormous, scared ‘Thing’ is one that speaks to all children’s fears and dreams. Tall Stories have beautifully expanded the 2D visual style of the book, with a jaunty, angular set that looks like an unfolding pop-up book brought to life. The characters are played by puppets, soft toy-like avatars and the actors themselves as the staging requires, with visual cues such as Stanley the rabbit’s long fluffy ears serving to ensure we stay on board with who’s who.

Anna Wheatley is tremendous as Emily, a resourceful, tomboyish adventurer played with just the right combination of childish enthusiasm and slight grown-up distance from the character: appropriate, given that Emily takes on a reassuring adult role for the monsters that she meets along the way. Each of these is played with satisfyingly visceral enthusiasm by Chris Gunter, from the camp, shy Thing (for which Gunter channels more than a little of George, the pink hippo from Rainbow), to the overly friendly polar bear, to the feral troll, which treads just the right line between scary and funny.

The plot is purposefully repetitive and slightly loses momentum in the third act; but any potential kiddie restlessness is averted by some spirited audience interaction. The bookending of the piece with both child and adult voices discussing first their fears, then their dreams, elevates the story’s message to one that is both universal and moving. This is an adventurous, fully-realised production that beguiles its young audience like the sweetest of sweet dreams.