I don’t know about you, but in our house Julia Donaldson books are still a firm favourite with both our 3 & 7 year olds! We’ve seen a number of the stage versions of the books but I have to say ‘A squash and a squeeze’ cuts it as probably the most bizarre we’ve seen.

Step into the magical world of A Squash and a Squeeze live on stage! Once upon a time, a little old lady lived all by herself in her cosy cottage, but she wasn’t happy – her house felt just too small.  Whatever could she do?  Will the wise old man’s solution of bringing in a flappy, scratchy, greedy, noisy crowd of farmyard animals work?

The performance started while we were sitting down in the theatre when ‘The Wise Old Man’ showed up asking if we had any issues which he could sort through his company ‘Easy Peasy solutions’ and had a very comical conversation with my son about how he could ‘fake’ his homework and gave him a business card which my son thought was fantastic! I fully suspect he will be making his own business cards over half term! 

The performance is a mix of song and eclectic puppetry and remains true to Axel Scheffler drawings but does move slightly away from the Julia Donaldson story which you would have to do to make the short book into an hour show. The production has laugh out loud moments for children and adults but is definitely aimed for young children (age 3-7 is perfect in my opinion!). The actors actively get the audience involved through singing and actions although there could have been even more audience participation in this hour long production and some of the scenes are slightly lost. The set, lighting and costumes are fantastic. 

We saw the production at The Lighthouse, Poole which has an excellent line up of theatre, cinema and performing arts productions for all the family throughout the year. A Squash and a Squeeze is on in Poole 27-29 May but is on tour around the country so be sure to check out where you can see the production near you!