The Smeds and the Smoos, Tall Stories, 2023
Photo: Tall Stories

Review

The Smeds and The Smoos

4 out of 5 stars
Delightful stage version of Julia Donaldson's beloved kids’ book about bickering aliens
  • Theatre, Children's
  • Lyric Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue
  • Recommended
James Manning
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Time Out says

Aliens have landed in the West End! But don’t worry, it’s just the latest adaptation of a picturebook by the all-conquering Death Star of children’s publishing: Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler. 

Not every Donaldson/Scheffler book is a banger. I doubt even my four-year-old is excited about the BBC adapting The Scarecrows’ Wedding this Christmas. But The Smeds and the Smoos is one of the best: a space opera take on Romeo & Juliet, retold with a happy ending, a dash of Lewis Carroll’s nonsense verse, and maybe a sprinkle of Wallace and Gromit’s Grand Day Out.

Bill and Janet (Antony Lam and Felicia Akin-Tayo) are the star-crossed lovers from a far-off planet, whose young romance is cruelly thwarted by the prejudice of their elders. After all, Bill is a bright-blue Smoo and Janet is a scarlet Smed – and interracial relationships aren’t looked on kindly by Grandfather Smed (Patrick Bridgman) and Grandmother Smoo (Abbey Norman). So Janet and Bill steal a rocket and head off into space, and their families are forced together in a mission to bring them home.

There’s a ton of fun in the joyful parade of weird and wonderful planets that Grandfather and Grandmother touch down on in their quest for the runaway pair. The cast of four dial up the energy with the help of huge puppets, water pistols and opera-singing slime creatures. There are even some sly sci-fi references to Star Trek and The Hitch-Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy for the nerdier grown-ups in the audience.

It helps that, unlike some kids’ books, The Smeds and The Smoos actually has enough plot to fill up an hour with minimal padding. Some fun songs, plenty of clowning about with the colourful, ever-transforming set, and a few touching moments make surprisingly light work of what is essentially a story about apartheid. That’s also down to the deft touch of serial Donaldson/Scheffler adaptors Tall Stories Theatre, who’ve been touring this production since 2021. My pre-school critic’s take: ‘It was really, really good.’

Details

Address
Lyric Theatre
Shaftesbury Avenue
London
W1D 7ES
Transport:
Tube: Piccadilly Circus
Price:
£10-£27. Runs 1hr

Dates and times

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