This “witty”, musical retelling of the story of a magical, nose-lengthening puppet is a “heartwarming” celebration of “curiosity” and “acceptance”, said Aliya Al-Hassan in WhatsOnStage. In the Renaissance setting of Shakespeare’s Globe, it’s the “perfect family show” and that’s “no lie”.
It is “truly enchanting” to watch traditional puppetry at a time when we’re “bombarded by artificially created images”. Interacting seamlessly with the human characters, Pinocchio is “masterfully” handled by puppeteers Stan Middleton, Aya Nakamura and Andrea Sadler. “The audience falls in love with him almost instantly.”
Charlie Josephine’s “funny and touching script” and Sean Holmes’ expansive direction transforms Carlo Collodi’s original book into a “snappy” production, with “plenty for everyone to enjoy”.
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The 14-person cast brings “full-tilt fun” to the stage with the help of Vicki Igbokwe-Ozoagu’s “inventive” choreography, said Lucinda Everett in The Guardian. And the show’s “biggest success” is the transformation of puppet inventor Geppetto: Nick Holder brings “heart and humour” to the role, taking the audience on his journey from “nervous caregiver to fully fledged father”.
This show is a breath of fresh air amid the “annual slosh of panto and exhausted West End festive musicals”, said Claire Allfree in The Telegraph. The Globe is “naturally suited” to folklore and fairytales, and “the production leans into its theatrical setting” with a set like “an old-fashioned puppet theatre” with “red curtains and moveable cardboard cutouts”.
It is “miles away” from the Disney version, said Alice Saville in The Independent. Although it “does surprisingly little to extend a warm, interactive welcome” to children in the audience, which makes the early scenes feel a bit “stodgy”, the music by Jim Fortune soon livens things up with “foot-stomping Renaissance bops, dark bluesy numbers, and rabble-rousing rock ’n’ roll”.
Pinnochio is, above all, a story of transformation and enchantment, said Allfree in The Telegraph. And this production “embraces the idea to the hilt”.
Until 4 January; shakespearesglobe.com
