What a wonderful moment it was, to walk into the auditorium of the Ashcroft Theatre in Croydon, and see the beautiful set by Julie Godfrey for Katie and the Mona Lisa, glowing with golden light.
Today was the world premiere of the stage show. And it was enchanting. To be sure we’ve had our ups and downs over the months and years. Katie has tried to escape from books many times. For some years a TV adaptation was on the cards. But like so many things, the plans fell through. All credit, then, to Mike Redwood of Splats Entertainment and Sean Garvey of Planet Theatre Productions, for seeing this through to a very happy conclusion. The cast are lovely, the songs and music are tremendous, the script by Mike Redwood, full of clever touches. The show is a delight. They have worked very hard and they have done Katie proud.
Little Hannah Lucas is a feisty Katie, with an agreeably truculent Grandma (Karen Kennedy). Grace Dunne brings surprising gravitas to the role of Mona Lisa, and Claire Huskisson is properly skittish as the princess, refined as the Goddess of Love. Not to be outdone, the men bring humour and charm as Harry August becomes both Jester and St. George… and Richard Robinson becomes the villainous gallery guard… and angel! to cap it all, Robert Hainault and Adrian Brown’s superb songs were full of lovely harmonies, melodies and rhymes. My heartfelt thanks to you all!
The story was very close to the books and the audience loved it – lots of children falling in love with art. That’s got to be a good thing! And friends old and new came along to make a special day perfect!
I sincerely hope the show tours and grows. It’s a lovely piece of theatre, with dignity, charm, slapstick and quality mixed up together. I’ve seen a lot of trashy kids shows over the years. This is truly in another league. There are a few more performances to go – and I’d say… don’t miss it! If you don’t believe me, look at the pictures, which speak for themselves!
To book, visit: http://katieandthemonalisalive.com/
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