Does your summer need a splash of colour? A dash of joy and an extra helping of laughter? Then we have a solution… There’s a Monster in Your Show. This fun-filled family show has been adapted for the stage by Tom Fletcher from his bestselling book, There’s a Monster in Your Book, and Mother&Baby was invited along to watch it at the Riverside Studios, Hammersmith where it’s showing until 1st September 2024.
The show begins with a group of performers planning their show – a board on the stage advertises ‘Charlie’s Show’. But we get hints that things may not go to plan… a small blue and white stripy arm appears from a bookcase, a book falls off the shelf, and we start to see that a familiar little monster might be about to disrupt Charlie’s carefully laid plans.
What follows is a hilarious, physical performance with hints of slapstick and elements of pantomime but which never feels OTT. After causing a spot of bother, Monster tries to help out his new friends by calling on some old ones. Enter Unicorn, Dragon and Alien. Having read Tom’s other stories, my daughter was delighted to see his other characters escape from their books and join Monster in this show.
No spoilers, but the sign that once showed ‘Charlie’s Show’ somehow changes (I wish I’d spotted how this sleight of hand happened!) to Monster’s Show, and then to Monster & Friend’s Show as the madness unfolds and the team work together to fix the show. Eventually, after much hilarity, all the characters are safely returned to their respective books and order is restored.
Fifty minutes of family fun
Parents of young children will be familiar with the interactive, hands-on nature of the show and the live musical version shares that same energy. You can expect 50 minutes of high-energy performance, audience participation, colour, infectiously catchy songs, and plenty of laughs. I can honestly say that I’ve never enjoyed a kids’ show as much as There’s a Monster in Your Show, and as a theatre-loving parent of two children aged 7 and 10, I’ve been to my fair share.
As you might expect from Tom Fletcher, the songs are perfectly pitched – they’re catchy and upbeat, with thoughtful lyrics that are just right for little ones. We were all dancing in our seats as the audience tried to teach Dragon how to fly, and there was no hesitation from anyone when it came to clapping along at any opportunity.
This is one show where even the littlest kids are welcome – it’s relaxed and interactive so there’s no tutting if your tot decides to shout at the performers or gets a little fidgety. But because it’s so engaging and fast-moving, there’s little chance of them getting bored and wriggly. Whether they’re familiar with Monster and his furry friends or not, they’ll be gripped by the colour of the set, the comedic character of the puppets and the uplifting songs that are easy to sing along to (I’d go as far as to say it’s difficult not to sing along!) As Tom said when I interviewed him for Mother&Baby, "We want you to feel like you can interact and be noisy, and you can stand up - it’s your show - you're taking part in what's happening.” And if that was his intention, he's certainly succeeded!
A lively and entertaining escapade with moments of meaning
But it’s not all fun and games. Ok it is, but there are occasional moments of something more meaningful. As the parent of an overthinking, anxiety-prone child, I personally loved the ‘Worry Gremlins’ which appear on the screens behind Charlie when he has an attack of the nerves or starts to worry about things going wrong. The other characters can see them too and it gives them the chance to address his concerns, helping him to see a way through his worries. Giving these emotions a character makes it easy to talk about with small children, and I’ll be adopting that in my own parenting from now on!
Another positive little message that comes through is the idea of working together as friends. In fact, there’s a whole song about it and it’ll be living rent-free in my head for a while, along with all the other songs!
All-in-all, There's a Monster in your Show comes highly recommended by both this writer and my daughter. The only thing she thought would make it better was if real water had been used when putting out the dragon's fire (it'll make sense when you watch it!) and then sprayed on the audience. I'm inclined to think it's pretty perfect without that!
Get tickets while you can
There’s a Monster in your Show is on at the Riverside Studios in Hammersmith from 14th August to 1st September with tickets available from £13.50 per person (Band C, prices correct at the time of writing). It then goes on tour around the UK until 14th May 2025.
Rebecca Lancaster is a Digital Writer for Mother&Baby, drawing on ten years of parenting her two children to help others navigating their own parenting journey. As a freelance writer, she spent ten years working with leading lifestyle brands, from travel companies to food and drink start-ups, and writing everything from hotel reviews to guides to the best British cheeses. She’s particularly interested in travel and introducing her children to the excitement of visiting new places, trying different foods (less successfully) and experiencing different cultures.