Arriving at the Place in Oakengates is like arriving in a futuristic new world. From all the shiny new facilities and the heaps of government money, you automatically assume that they鈥檒l put on high quality productions. | "The actors were good, the scenery was good, and the eight-foot chicken was excellent." | | Annabel Jones |
Unfortunately not so. Personally, I loved the works of Roald Dahl as a child, but thinking back, maybe they weren't such a good influence. Like the time sibling jealousy led me to fill my brother鈥檚 brand new shoes with shampoo, after feeling inspired by Matilda. Now I see things from a different perspective, I can't see that George is a very suitable hero for the youth of today. Although, like the rest of the characters on stage, he was played with lots of energy and expression, I worry for the safety of grannies all over the country. George's plan is to make up a new medicine for his grandmother, in the hope that it will cure her of her grumpiness. However, quite casually, he remarks that he will make it so strong that it will either work perfectly or 鈥渂low the top of her head off.鈥 Should children really be led to admire people with such casual attitudes to ageism, intolerance and murder? They all seemed to enjoy it though. Apparently, the idea of attempting to poison others (with ingredients such as paraffin, anti-freeze and various animal medicines) goes down well with the under-twelves. Almost as well as when the grandmother is in crippling pain because her insides are literally on fire. The fire was one of the good points in some ways though. Even the most contemptuous of critics would have to admit that the Birmingham Stage Company has outdone itself with the effects used, another being the portrayal of the fifty-foot growth spurt that the grandmother suffers. The scenery too is first-class, with a charmingly wonky and colourful house. The eight-foot chicken, created when George's dad, a farmer by trade, starts trying out the medicine on the animals, was another high-point. However, once again it raises an interesting moral issue, this time to do with intensive farming methods and the pursuit of profit at all costs.
 | | Blast reporter Annabel Jones |
Maybe I'm just being cynical. The actors were good, the scenery was good, and the eight-foot chicken was excellent. But if you're ever asked to accompany younger siblings to see a production like this one, poison them as quickly as possible, so you don't have to sit through the bad jokes and worse morals that pass for children's entertainment nowadays. | 
