Tom Gates is one of those kid's book series that has won over and inspired a generation of readers. I don't know one kid in Max's year that hasn't heard or read about Tom and his world. And with a book series that is so richly animated and created, it makes perfect sense for the stage to be a brilliant place to adapt Tom and his life.
Tom Gates Live On Stage has just taken Southampton Mayflower by storm. A completely new show created by Birmingham Stage Company, this show follows Tom on a brand new adventure and Max was honestly sitting on the edge of his seat in anticipation throughout the whole show!
Based on a brand new story, Tom Gates Live On Stage follows Tom and his family on a whirlwind adventure. You are introduced to Tom and his school friends whilst finding out that Tom isn't doing too well in class. He's forgetting his homework and being late for school and he's told he might miss out on the school trip to the biscuit factory! For a boy that dreams of caramel wafers, it's a trip he must do whatever he can to get on. But of course, with every story that involves this mischievous character, nothing ends up how it should and things go slightly awry.
It's a show that is jam packed with amazing animations, live music and on stage trickery that had every child (and adult!) in the audience on the edge of their seat and dancing along. Utilising a fantastic electronic backdrop, different scenes, thoughts and drawings were projected onto the backdrop. And adding a revolving door idea, it allowed the stage to constantly change and move without any massive pieces of staging to drag on and off. It kept the show seamless and fast paced and I thought it was utterly brilliant! Something I hadn't seen in theatre, especially kid's theatre in a long time.
With a small cast, each and every character (bar Tom and a select few!) was played by a multitude of people. Whether it was a class mate turning into Tom's sister Delia, or his granny turning into moaning Marcus, the quick changes and brilliant acting was second to none and the whole cast did a fantastic job. Special mentions have to go to Matthew Chase who took the lead role of Tom and honestly did a fantastic job of singing, dancing and literally turning into one of Max's favourite characters before his eyes. Max is convinced he saw the real Tom Gates! Also Amy Hargreaves who played both Delia and Amy was honestly fantastic and I loved her moody big sister performance.
I don't want to give too much of the show away, but it was one that had the audience hooked, Max and I in awe and everybody laughing and cheering throughout. With stunning scenery, brilliant acting and brand new songs that will have you singing the whole way home, this is a show like no other. Move over other shows, Tom Gates is on the scene and he's ready to rock with his Dog Zombies!
*Note: We were gifted tickets for review purposes. All opinions are my own.
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