HOGWASH
By
Monster Productions
The
Crucible Theatre – Studio, Sheffield
Hogwash
– playing until 7th Jan twice daily at the Crucible
studio is Monster Productions latest creation and for all
parents of children under 7 or 8 who might be stressed,
tormented or generally tearing their hair out at this time of
year, it provides a wonderful 65 minutes of joy, laughter and
song for your little ones. (You may even enjoy it yourself, as
I did).
The
story concerns a king who is extremely bored with being king,
3 sisters, 3 lively pigs and 1 wicked wolf. The king organises
a royal competition to find the next ruler and the winner will
be whoever can entertain him for 3 whole minutes. Flora, Nora
and Dora own the 3 pigs, Grunt, Oink and Squeal. Flora loves
to cook and decides to turn the pigs into sausages for a
lovely meal for the king. Nora, who loves to exercise
determines to sell the pigs and buy sports equipment for the
king. Dora, however, loves the pigs and just wants to save
them from their horrible fate. Who wins is a surprise I wont
spoil but Hogwash is a play that will entertain and educate
without the need of sacrificing one for the other. My
daughter, who is not yet three was transfixed.
Adults
will also find much to enjoy on a level beyond theatre. For
instance the king has a look and manner that reminds you of
David Walliams from Little Britain. The two sisters who love
to cook and exercise, I can only assume must swop parts every
day, as at the performance I saw the fitness fanatic had the
looks and voluptuous figure of Nigella Lawson, whilst the supposed cook had the
figure of a catwalk model with a coke habit.
Of
course stereotypes are lost on the little ones, but it
was one of the only jarring notes in the entire
production for me,(that and a mention of Mike Tyson which was
lost on the audience, and a completely
unnecessary reference to the real world).
Apart
from these two minor points, Hogwash is a marvellous
production, full of good humour, energy and the perfect
distraction for children of a certain
age.
Written
by Paul Tyree |
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