The Snail And The Whale
20 December 2019
Apollo Theatre
4.0 out of 5.0 stars
Just before my Christmas holiday, I got to take the kids I nanny to see The Snail And The Whale by Tall Stories. We’ve seen another of their shows earlier in the year and absolutely loved it, so we were looking forward to seeing one of our favourite book brought to life.
To frame the story of the book, it was wrapped up inside another story, that of a father going off to sea while his daughter just wants him to stay and read her favourite story to her again. They imaginatively use the girl’s bedroom furniture to create scenery for the story of the snail and the whale.
As the father eventually has to head off to catch his ship, his daughter gives him her cuddly toy snail to take with him, so he won’t miss her too much and always have a reminder. In return, he records her favourite story and sends it to her. While she listens to his words, her imagination unfolds and we are treated to the story of the travel happy snail and her friend the whale.
Adorably re-enacted and very well paced, the children are absolutely enraptured by the play and happily sing along to the simple songs. It’s all presented very charmingly and wraps this beautiful story in a great tale of family connection and love.
We really enjoyed this very well structured children’s theatre, with cute visuals and great storytelling. I’d absolutely recommend this show for young children and will definitely be back to see more Tall Stories productions, they are so lovingly made and work so well on stage.