It was with great excitement that we went to catch the opening show of Charlie & Lola's Extremely New Play earlier this week.
Charlie and Lola are amongst my kids' favourite characters and the books are a staple in our bedtime reading collection. We've also got a collection of the DVDs with many volumes of the animated series which the kids still routinely request to watch. In the run-up to us watching this play, the children even dressed up as Charlie and Lola for their school Character Day Parade. So you can imagine that the children (and I) were very curious to see how Charlie and Lola would be translated on to stage.
We found out that this was achieved through the clever use of puppetry. The team of puppeteers quickly and skilfully manipulate Charlie and Lola and all their friends while creative props effectively recreate the different scenes and also the fantastical happenings of Lola's imagination. I thought this was particularly clever since this allowed Charlie and Lola to retain their flat, 2D and imminently recognisable selves, while at the same time be brought to life in a new way.
The storyline of Charlie and Lola's Extremely New Play follows Charlie and Lola as they experience the four seasons. Starting in autumn, they journey through to summer while learning about the seasons and having madcap adventures in between. Charlie and Lola fans will be excited to realise that excerpts from many of their favourite stories are woven into the storyline. Between my son and I, we identified "Snow is my favourite and my best", "There is only one sun and that is me!" "My best best bestest friend", "We do promise honestly we can look after your dog" and "But Marv is absolutely Charlie's best friend". And if this is your first introduction to Charlie and Lola, you should still have no trouble following and enjoying the stories, and enjoying some of the special effects. I shan't give more away!
Perhaps the one thing I wasn't so keen on was the fact that the soundtrack for the whole show was entirely pre-recorded. I felt that if the puppeteers were to speak the lines instead, it would give a bit more life to the characters. But I guess with the pre-recording, Charlie, Lola, Lotta and Marv did sound exactly as they do in the animated series, which I'm sure my kids appreciated.
My two kids really enjoyed the play and we've come straight out of Charlie and Lola's Extremely New Play into more Charlie and Lola at home, with the kids showing a renewed interest in these adorable characters. I must say I don't mind at all, because I love Charlie and Lola too. They really are my favourite and my best.
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