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Review: Madagascar, New Wimbledon Theatre ****

Based on the popular DreamWorks Animation film, Madagascar the Musical follows four animal friends who escape from New York’s Central Park Zoo and find themselves on an unexpected journey to Madagascar.

The production is a co-production between Selladoor Worldwide and the Theatre Royal Plymouth. Selladoor Worldwide were also responsible for the earlier version of the production in 2018-19 as well as for recent hit Spongebob Squarepants. This current tour kicked of in October 2023 in Plymouth and after playing at the New Wimbledon Theatre till Saturday has many more stops to go across the country,

Madagascar is a family friendly show with the running time a mere 1 hour 45 minutes (including an interval) and an earlier than usual start time of 7 pm. This is a show very comfortable with what it is, director (Kirk Jameson) has ensured there is a good pace, lots of colour and a clear story line.

Also important that there is no real peril. Any fight scenes or enemies are presented in a largely comedic way. There is no scary music or truly terrifying enemy to frighten children.

The marriage of the choreography (Fabian Aloise), puppet design (Max Humphries) and puppet direction (Emma Brunton) gives the musical a strength which elevates it above other family shows. The puppets are designed with simple lines which give the puppeteers the freedom to sing, act and move with them in a way which fits the action fluidly.

The set is colourful and gives a strong sense of place. Running in the New York skyline seems very different from fighting in Madagascar and adds to the clarity for this young audience. The scenes in the crates were especially clever.

A sure sign that the musical is working for its intended crowd was their rapt attention throughout. All the crowd, young and old, were bouncing in their seats for “I like to move it”, performed with comedy aplomb by CBBC and Strictly Come Dancing star, Karim Zeroual.

Musical Supervision is by Mark Crossland and all the musical numbers worked. Again, the puppeteers shone here with their combined voices sounding more than their number.

Madagascar the musical would be a lovely first introduction to the theatre for any child, especially one already familiar with the films.

[Thank you to New Wimbledon theatre for the gifted tickets for an honest review.]

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