The Stage

Stick Man Live On Stage

Published Monday 14 December 2009 at 12:20 by Lisa Martland

There are certain qualities about Julia Donaldson/Axel Scheffler children’s books that, in the right hands, translate brilliantly to the stage and the now well established team of director Sally Cookson, designer Katie Sykes and composer Benji Bower do not disappoint with this new adaptation of the writers’ creation Stick Man.

A scene from Stick Man Live On Stage at Soho Theatre Photo: Steve Ullathorne

Just the right balance of humour and poignancy is achieved as we join in the journey of Stick Man who lives in his family tree ‘with his Stick Lady Love and their stick children three’. While going for a jog one day, a whole string of events result in Stick Man straying further and further away from home until a chance meeting with Father Christmas secures a happy ending.

Originality and simplicity are key in the way this story is told. Performers Brian Hargreaves and Emily Pollet are wonderful in the way they portray a host of characters and scenarios, sometimes via a small costume change or by using a range of puppets or props - the latter are often household objects like blue buckets (the river) or white umbrellas with pom-poms (the snow). Hargreaves is also in charge of a host of onstage percussion instruments which not only provide musical accompaniment but are brilliantly timed to fit the narrative action.

Mark Kane’s portrayal of Stick Man is subtly and sweetly done, for although he uses a puppet to represent the character much of the time, he also feels the same emotions and draws the audience into his story. As a result, when the Stick Man family are reunited, it is a genuinely tearjerking moment.

Cookson, Sykes and Bower have produced an atmospheric show which has the wit to appeal to both to children and adults alike, music to lift the spirits, and a magical quality which can genuinely touch their hearts.