THEATRE REVIEW: The Very Hungry Caterpillar - The Lowry Theatre, Salford

Playing to the half-term audience of young children plus doting parents, grandparents and other carers is this delightful touring production of the perpetual staple favourite of the first book of: Eric Carle’s ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’, plus three other stories.  My own daughter loved this book so much we read it every night and I can still recite the caterpillar’s diet from memory a quarter of a century later. It’s still a hugely popular story, well loved, well written, well constructed and through this piece of puppet-based theatre, well performed. It’s a cute narrative of the metamorphosis of the caterpillar but also a deeper moral message that being greedy will leave you with a tummy ache. (Solved by a green leaf if you’re ever in the same situation).  

My friend’s two children age 6 and 18 months were rapt for the short but action-packed performance of four of Carle’s classic stories in the cosy, chocolate box theatre which is the Quays. It was the perfect setting for this touring production’s week of what I predict, full houses. Created by Jonathan Rockerfeller, the production is performed around the world. This production was led by three confident and competent actors: Karyn Claydon, Ben Murrell and Jonathan Norman, with swing by ASM Katie Haygarth who all knew their audience and smiled warmly throughout. It had echoes of a bygone time when we used to have the simpler media of one storyteller on the TV and holding our attention through focus and gravitas. I felt this through their powerful performances and lovely puppeteering. I even thought each actor suited their animal character too. All tightly conducted by Company Stage Manager, Joolz Clough.     

The show boast a menagerie of 75 puppets – some a little scary looking (eg: the purple cat) for our toddler but there they were in all their gorgeous glory: animals from children’s books right there before your eyes. Carle’s books have careful word choices and repetitious narratives for young ears to learn the rhythm of language. Many of the young audience joined in the storytelling… especially “but he was still hungry!”  It was a beautiful, visual spectacle, actors in all whites, puppeteering against a white set which multi-purposed as windows and boxes for the puppets to pop out or appear from. Mesmerising. I spent some of the show looking around at the delighted little faces agog at the spectacle and enjoying such an immersive, first theatre experience.  

The music was gentle and melancholy and served the narratives well to reinforce the stories of Brown Bear, 10 Little Rubber Ducks, The Very Lonely Firefly before the finale of The Hungry Caterpillar. The lighting was stunning and complimented the moody night-time of the firefly seeking his tribe to the colours of the Brown Bear’s friends and the whole planet of habitats visited in 10 Little Rubber Ducks. There were gasps as the dolphin leapt.   

A half-term morning very well spent, we thought. Lots of little people carrying merchandise and some dressed up showing that the old ones are quite often the best. Long live the Hungry Caterpillar but go easy on the sweet stuff on a Saturday. One tiny grumble, we love a little selfie with a theatre poster but we couldn't find one, or maybe even a "meet the puppet" session for children to have their photos taken?  A beautiful production if you get the chance and you have small people the perfect little theatre trip.  

Reviewers - Kathryn Gorton and Helen Wilkinson
on - 11.4.23