Theatre Review: Disney’s Winnie the Pooh

Words: Natalie Owen
Thursday 29 June 2023
reading time: min, words

Masterfully brought to life by incredible puppetry

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Winnie the Pooh the classic story for children around the world, famously illustrated by E.H Shepard and written by A.A Milne. Most if not all children across the decades seem to know of the book and of course the Disney animated film and series. This was proven at the recent viewing of Disney’s Winnie the Pooh: The New Musical Stage Adaptation, as adults proudly wore t-shirts and outfits resembling the renowned yellow bear himself.

Disney’s Winnie the Pooh: The New Musical Stage Adaptation is a beautifully written stage performance for the whole family. From babies, young children to adults, the audience were captivated through colours, song and dance whilst being taken on an adventure through the Hundred Acre Wood showcasing A.A. Milne’s beloved characters. The characters masterfully being brought to life using the incredible puppetry work by Rockefeller Productions on the opening night at the Theatre Royal Nottingham on Wednesday 28 June.

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The production cleverly portrays the famous characters of Disney's iconic Winnie the Pooh, Christopher Robin and their best friends Piglet, Eeyore, Kanga, Roo, Rabbit, Owl and Tigger. While also featuring the Sherman Brothers' classic Grammy Award-winning music alongside them.

Designed and built by the team at Rockefeller Productions, the huge puppets are moved by the actors themselves, which in itself is a hard task to do whilst also resembling the original voices we all know and love from the Disney original piece. 

Inspired by Disney's original character designs, and Christopher Robin's real-life counterparts, each larger-than-life size character 'full of fluff', covered in fur (or feathers) has been built lovingly many times over to get their look and movement just right.

Special mention must be given to the actor and puppeteer who played Tigger, Alex Cardall, who made the older audience chuckle with his wit and enthusiasm to recreate such an iconic character. Alex’s voice acting seemed to match the beloved voice of Paul Einchell from the original Winnie the Pooh film in 1968. 

My little girl was mesmerised the whole sixty minutes of the production, sixty minutes I must add was a great amount of time for the little ones to stay interested and amused. Heart warmingly fun and nostalgic, the stage adaptation has it all. Definitely one to watch with the whole family. 

The Theatre Royal Nottingham from Wednesday 28 June to Saturday 1 July 2023 in Disney’s Winnie the Pooh.

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