REVIEW: QUENTIN BLAKE’S MRS ARMITAGE ON WHEELS

57 minutes ago
2 min read

Endlessly Inventive Adaptation, Brimming with Puppetry Magic, Music and Mayhem

Quentin Blake’s Mrs Armitage on Wheels has gone from page to stage in this charmingly eccentric production, brimming with songs, fabulous puppetry and endlessly inventive sets.

We head to Southbank Centre’s Imagine festival for the world premiere, adapted and directed by Samantha Lane, artistic director of puppet alchemists, Little Angel Theatre.

With Lane at the helm, the production is bursting with magical puppetry, from Mrs Armitage’s faithful dog, Brakespeare, to singing sandwiches.

It’s based on the BBC animated series 'Quentin Blake's Box of Treasures’ and tells the story of Mrs Armitage, a brilliant and eccentric inventor who eagerly whips up ingenious creations to help anybody who knocks on her shed door.

Using the fabulous device of a puppet letter - with enormous lips - Mrs Armitage’s cousin invites her over for Victoria Sponge, to thank her for knocking up a cake-making gizmo.

But each attempt at cycling there ends with Mrs Armitage returning to the trusty shed to soup up her bike - from adding horns to warn passing hedgehogs, to snack trays and sails.

The shed is a character in itself, closing at night, and opening to reveal her cosy HQ, full of old horns, tubes and baskets to transform into useful inventions.

The shed is eventually revamped into a wonderfully extra bike upgrade, complete with spinning wheels, giant sails and Mrs Armitage wildly steering it through the roof.

Fizzing with energy and songs, Gillian Kirkpatrick keeps children entranced as the charismatic and endearingly dotty lead.

She eventually abandons her quest for cake, after a comical crash forces her to finally stay still in plaster casts.

With a lovely message about the power of community and kindness, everybody she’s helped returns to her shed with inventions to make her recovery easier, repurposed from the gadgets she made from them - from comical cutlery claws, to a remote control basket to walk Brakespeare.

These include her cousin, who has brought the cake to her. Hurrah.

With the set and lighting's dreamy watercolour palette, and a production brimming with charm, imagination and eccentricity, it perfectly captures the spirit of its much-loved creator, Quentin Blake, and is as inventive as Mrs Armitage's gizmos.

Mrs Armitage on Wheels, Southbank Centre, Purcell Room, Belvedere Rd, London SE1 8XX. Until 21 February. For ages 3-8. Tickets from £22 + £3.50 booking fee