REVIEW: THE MYSTERY OF LITTLE ANGEL THEATRE
Kids turn Super-Sleuths in Breathlessly Engaging, Interactive Murder Mystery
Children become trainee detectives in this wonderfully engaging, one-woman murder mystery.
A departure from the puppet-led productions Little Angel Theatre is best-known for, this production combines a game show with a brain-teasing super-sleuth adventure, in which young audience members follow clues, interrogate suspects and pore over theatre maps and evidence to crack the case.
The show stars Danyah Miller - award-winning co-creator of West End hit, I Believe in Unicorns, with Dani Parr - who captivates children from the second she bounces onto the stage, high-fiving the audience.
The children are tasked with helping her identify the murderer of a young actress, who meets her untimely end after being squashed by a piano at Little Angel Theatre, in suspicious circumstances.
The clever set (designed by Kate Bunce) features a giant board game recreation of the theatre, with a detective board which is quickly filled with evidence and images of the prime suspects, and doors which flap open to show footage, loaded with intriguing clues.
My daughter and the other children are utterly engrossed. Their hands are permanently skyward, desperate to answer Danyah’s questions; share their findings; interrogate or play witnesses or roll the giant dice.
It’s a breathless hunt through secrets and surprises, with twists around every corner, which thrill my daughter, who is very vocal throughout, gasping, excitedly sharing her findings and putting Danyah - as the various suspects - through intense grillings.
Finally, the puppet element literally pops up with the big reveal, when Danyah pulls up a replica of the theatre from the middle of the board game, and uses puppets of the victim and culprit to reenact the murder, in a dimly-lit scene eerie enough for the 6+ target age group, without being too scary.
Danyah is a master of moving the story along - no mean feat, with children misinterpreting evidence and asking suspects curious questions (“what is one plus one?”) - while making every child feel enthusiastically involved.
At the end of the show, we are all forbidden from sharing details of the murderer - so to find out, you will need to take your own, junior Columbo’s along to crack the case. Just one more thing: they will love it.
The Mystery of Little Angel Theatre, Little Angel Studios, 132 Sebbon St, London N1 2EH. Until 17 November. Tickets £15 adult. £13 child (1-17). Recommended age 6+
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