Hello world! Welcome back to another blog. Here is my review of when I went to watch Winnie The Pooh: The Musical on 28th June 2023 at the Theatre Royal in Nottingham.
On this day, I went with my Nan, who is also a big fan of the yellow bear who loved his honey. This was only an hour long (hence why this read might be shorter than my previous ones), so it was suitable for the all ages, especially for the younger ones, and we went to watch the opening show.
Each of the characters are giant puppets, with the actors handling them whilst showing their human form. Benjamín Durham, who puppeteered Pooh, was phenomenal. His voice sounded a lot like him and the qualities he bought to the character were adorable. I especially liked the moment Pooh got stuck in the tree (whilst trying to find honey of course), and the control he had when he was out of the tree was so slick and neat. It was incredible.
Laura Bacon, who puppeteered Piglet, was also sensational. The anxious traits she brings to the puppet of this little pig and Pooh's best friend, was so accurate and so cute. I remember having a Piglet toy which I used to bring to school (and looking back it might have been my stim toy at the time), and after seeing Piglet on the stage, its safe to say after that performance I want to bring him home and cuddle him to death! Well done Laura for bringing your version of this adorable character to life.
The main stand out for me though was Tigger, puppeteered by the brilliant Alex Cardell. Tigger has always been a favourite of mine. Alex sounded exactly like previous incarnations of this bouncing Tiger, and his personality along with his songs "The Wonderful Thing about Tiggers" and "The Whoop-de-dooper Bounce" are definitely memorable. And still to this day its safe to say I can't get those songs out of my head.
One thing I will say about this show, is that as it had a lot of younger children, it was hard to hear what the actors were saying, as most of them were crying seeing the puppets. In all honesty thought, if I was 2 again, seeing Owl and Rabbit would terrify me. I understand kids will be kids, and sometimes they can't help but cry, but I feel that if its something that's going to scare them, don't bring them to something like this. I'm not one to complain, and I understand that seeing it on social media vs seeing it in real life can be different, as they were a lot bigger than expected in real life, (especially Owl who had to be handled by two people), but there are some members of the audience that don't want to be disturbed when watching theatre.
I've also noticed towards the end of the show that the puppeteer who played Piglet's microphone started to buffer, and it was hard to hear what she was saying, knowing that the children were making a lot of noise. But they cleverly managed to get it sorted and carried on. A sign of a true performer who carried on whenever a setback happens.
And of course I had to get some merchandise from the show. I wasn't able to get much, as it was all mostly cuddly toys. Whilst I did want one (Please don't judge me), I knew I had to be conscious of money. So in the end I got a programme (which is set out as a story book, telling you each of the seasons which is how the show was set), a tote bag (and that's the inner bag girl talking, even if it wasn't a special interest, a common trait in autism) and a poster.
Overall, this was an insanely cute show to see. So cute that I could've cried, as this was a big part of my childhood, and a big part of my nan's life too. This was also my mums favourite cartoon character, and I know she's looking down on me now seeing me and my nan having a good time. And that is all I can ask for.
Until next time...
This is the autistic actress signing off :)
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