The Gruffalo's Child

Adapted from the picture book by Axel Scheffler and Julia Donaldson - puppet and mask play for children from 3 years old, duration: 45 minutes.

The Gruffalo's child has heard from his father that there is a big, scary mouse somewhere. Curious as he is, he sets out to find it - and along the way meets animals who tell him frightening half-truths about the supposed "monster mouse". When he finally finds the mouse, his disappointment is huge: it's tiny! But the mouse is clever - it uses the light of the rising moon to make its shadow look enormous, and chases the Gruffalo's child away in fright. In the end, though, he is proud to have escaped.

The production uses hand-felted figures based on the original illustrations, mask play for the Gruffalo's child character, a transformable stage set, and specially composed music featuring forest sounds and monster effects.