Room on the Broom
There’s room on the broom for everyone in this family feast of songs, movement, puppetry, and fun!
The original award-winning story by Julia Donaldson is a hit in households across the UK, so it is heartwarming to see such a brilliant book brought to life on stage. Tall Stories have found another winner with their simple structure, recognisable characters, and realistic delivery - amounting to a brilliant outing for all in attendance.
The grown-ups of the room may enjoy Amy Harris’ rendition of The Witch, as she breathes a Miranda Hart-like humour and goofiness into the role (to both her credit and that of director Olivia Jacobs). Despite some microphone mishaps, Dan Armstrong is a puppetry prodigy, and truly pulls you into the world of the animals. Especially when considering how little anyone leaves the stage, this track in particular seems very physically demanding! The star of the show, however, was Joe Lindley who could genuinely act in anything and have the rapt attention of every audience member. His joyful mannerisms and brilliant range of accents heightened every creature he played, and no one was as engaged throughout as him. Lindley also uses incredible vocal techniques and could easily be the voice of a children's animation or TV show, as evident by his previous work with the likes of Disney.
Unfortunately not all actors are the most fantastic of singers, however Jon Fiber & Andy Shaw’s music and lyrics were so good that it was almost too fun to notice! The only feedback in terms of the creative team may be that Morag Cross felt underused - as there was definitely more ‘blocking’ than ‘dance’, and the addition of further choreography may have helped keep up the pace at times.
The cast carry the show, and are truly the focus over any technical department. This is somewhat of a rarity in commercial sectors now and just proves that this can in fact be done while remaining a visually stimulating piece.
The scenery did not change from start to finish, and was certainly more fun than functional. It would have been great to see a set design credit, or a little more imagination in this area. This statement could actually be applied to most elements of The Room On The Broom as, in this particular case, it seems that bigger may indeed have been better.
On the other hand, the stage was filled with a colour palette which was varied without being overwhelming thanks to Alice Lessing’s costume supervision, and James Whiteside’s lighting design. Individually, these aspects were perfect for this production, however there were a few small moments where they clashed ever so slightly and meant it was either too dark or didn’t provide enough contrast for little eyes.
Advertised as 55 minutes with no interval, I’d say parents of children who struggle to be still for an extended period of time should evaluate how logistically possible this may or may not be, as our performance ran just over an hour after starting a little late. The venue also poses some challenges in that aisles are not easy to manoeuvre in or out of, and the rake proves difficult for sightlines of shorter patrons - especially with adults thrown into the mix, too! Perhaps an adapted layout would offer more flexibility in this, and an alternate theatre could provide easier solutions for those using buggies or mobility aids as well. In saying that, the Lyric Theatre and indeed other Nimax spaces have been hosting productions of this nature for years and so all staff were well trained and knew how to best accommodate everyone.
Room on the Broom was reviewed on 23rd November 2024 at The Lyric Theatre. Tickets and more information can be found here:https://tallstories.org.uk/room-on-the-broom/
Review written by Katie McConnell
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Photography: Charles Flint Photography
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