What better way to end our Brighton Fringe expeditions than an adventurous romp to the 100 acre wood to meet Winnie the Pooh and friends. This new adaptation by Ella Turk-Thompson has been created with the love and care of not only a true fan but a believer in the world of Christopher Robin: the charm and delight in that universe comes through every single aspect of this production, from the rustic set to all the characters; which is just as well loved now as it was almost 100 years ago.
There are so many things to love in this latest David Villiers production. This has the feel of a sunny afternoon in a nostalgic postcard from the 1940s complete with picnic hamper and homemade lemonade. Its appeal is to transport us to a simpler time of childhood with no worries, just harmless adventures and outdoor playing, with your imagination the only thing keeping you company. It’s a breath of fresh air to momentarily leave the real world behind and wholeheartedly dive into the stories with this small boy’s soft toys come to life.
Winnie the Pooh and all Christopher Robin’s friends are puppeteered by different actors who become the characters so much that you completely believe them, from their movements to their voices. Mimi Goddard is simply the perfect Winnie the Pooh who we all know and love, with such innocence and naiveté it’s a true delight to behold. Sam Nixon’s Rabbit is heartwarming in its nervousness, captivating to watch, and Emma Howarth’s Piglet, including the best Piglet voice, is almost too cute for words and utterly adorable.
The puppets themselves look as if they’ve just come from a 40’s picture book of the story, each made in their own creative way. Eeyore is patched, Owl’s feathers are simply gorgeous, Rabbit’s back legs swivel as if jumping and Roo is in Kanga’s pouch – sorry – pocket, and able to jump out. Alex Louise as bossy maternal Kanga and Sophie Collins as the incorrigible and fearless Roo jumping in time together as they move about is a joy to watch. All the actors playing the puppets are a pleasure to watch and the extra details are so important here: the swarm of bees hung from metal coat-hangers are adorable, and the birds with cute little feathers being moved at the sides of the set are gorgeous.
There are two humans as well: Louis Wilkins is a perfect Christopher Robin with innocence, leadership, confidence and cuteness that belies his young age. Lewis Todhunter is a very warm and caring A. A. Milne, writing the stories and firing his son’s imagination. They both interact with the characters as if they are real, which helps to hold this fantasy bubble we are all in together. They involve the audience with participation: sayings and moves, in a joyful way.
This is a family show and the audience is of course filled with small children right up to grandparents or great grandparents, so it makes for quite a bit of noise. To help combat this, the actors all having individual microphones would really help all the words and songs be heard when some of it was missed. It’s also quite front facing, including quite a bit of action right of the tip of the thrust, meaning the majority of the audience behind can’t see or hear what’s going on properly. But the action moves quickly on so these moments don’t linger long: but it would be helpful to re-jig the staging so we don’t miss things. The river parts can be seen even though that is mostly at the front, so that works well. For a show aimed at small children it could also do with being a tad shorter.
The little stories move together as if through chapters of a book, taking us from a Pooh using a balloon to catch honey to piglet being stuck in his house while the blue blanket rivers swim all about him, from Eeyore’s lost tail to Christopher Robin leading them all on an expedition to the North Pole – and many others in between. There is some wonderfully expert comic timing, especially evident in the song Pooh creates with Piglet with the lines ‘the more it snows – tiddly pom’. This is a wonderful reminder that we are never too old to have some innocent fun, to be a little silly and the world won’t fall down if we just play for a while. It’s charming, enchanting and delightful; a glorious celebration of imagination, innocence and storytelling.
Brighton Open Air Theatre, 31 May 2025
