By Roald Dahl
Adapted for the stage
by David Wood
Directed by James
Scott
Honest Puck Theatre
Perform Australia Theatre,
Fyshwick to 17 January
Reviewed by Len Power
10 January 2020
Roald Dahl’s stories for children have now become well-known
through movie and musical versions of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”,
“Matilda” and “James and the Giant Peach”.
As well as being great adventure yarns, each of these stories have a
characteristic dark side and “Danny The Champion Of The World” is no exception.
In this 1975 story, adapted for the stage by David Wood, young
Danny and his father live in an old caravan next to a service station, fixing
cars for a living. Danny’s father also poaches
pheasants from the woods owned by wealthy neighbour, Mr Hazel. After injuring his leg in a man-trap set by
the neighbour while out poaching, Danny’s father, with his son’s help, plot to
spoil the neighbour’s annual pheasant shoot.
This story focusses on the loving bond between father and
son and doesn’t rely on any magical or supernatural elements. Its simplicity is one of its strengths,
allowing us to empathise with the pair in a very real way as the story plays
out.
The first half of the show is a bit too leisurely in its
development of characters and storyline but the second half of the show
explodes into action with plenty of comedy and audience participation. The young children in the audience were
captivated and entertained and Dahl’s dark humour made it very amusing for
adults as well.
Directed by James Scott, who also plays the father, the show
is performed on a simple but practical set by a cast of nine, including two
puppeteers. Three of the cast play
multiple roles.
 |
| Leo Scott (Danny) and James Scott (Dad) |
James Scott is very effective as the father in a performance
of great depth and warmth. You can see
why his son Danny loves him. Danny is
played by Leo Scott, who is actually James Scott’s son. He gives a winning performance of great
confidence especially in his monologues to the audience.
There was good work by others in the cast especially the
nicely judged almost Dickensian performance of David Cain playing the
villainous Mr Hazel. Brendan Kelly as
the policeman, Sergeant Samways, and Katherine Berry as Rabbets gave vivid
performances that were also delightfully mannered.
This is a good school holiday show for children over the age
of seven. Adults will have a good time
with it as well.
This review was first
published in the Canberra City News digital edition of 11 January 2020
Len Power’s reviews
are also broadcast on the Artsound FM 92.7 ‘In the Foyer’ program on Mondays
and Wednesdays at 3.30pm.