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Papa, please get the moon for me

Published Tuesday 20 December 2005 at 13:25 by Jeremy Brien

The Bristol Old Vic corralled two of the UK’s best-known writers for children in Philip Pullman and Eric Carle for their two Christmas shows this year, but for some reason have failed to do justice to either. Carle has come out the best of the two in the New Vic studio, for this adaptation of one of his picture storybooks is perfectly aimed at its target of 3-6 year olds.

One of the pleasures is the simplicity of the telling, but where the adaptation misses out is in the complete absence of even the most basic of messages for the audience. This is not easy to do with such a young age group, yet the Bristol Old Vic certainly managed it in the past with Toby Hulse’s wonderful No Loud Bangs trilogy and Quentin Blake’s Clown last year.

The story of the father who travels to great heights to bring the moon down to earth as his daughter’s plaything is put across in pleasant style by Matt Costain and Nina Wyllie. Bosnian young people’s artist Vladimir Ilic makes a striking Man in the Moon, and Stu Barker and Benji Bower provide an attractive musical accompaniment.

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