THE challenge: take your two-year-old granddaughter to her first show as a reviewer. No stress there then.

The event: Darlington-based Theatre Hullabaloo’s latest children’s play in front of 90 excitable infant schoolchildren with big-eyed granddaughter smack in the middle.

The result: The Northern Echo’s youngest reviewer laughing in all the right places and enthralled by a production that included her current favourite song, Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.

Hullabaloo’s artistic director, Miranda Thain, came up with the idea of Luna and recruited Cardiff’s Theatr Iolo to tie together the idea of the moon helping a little boy with his fear of the dark.

The masterstroke: A tiny stuffed toy pig that young Billy (Chris Farish) uses to communicate with the world and which immediately won over young onlookers, including a two-year-old who pleaded for updates on the pig when he was stuck on a shelf at one point.

The arrival of Luna, the moon girl attired in glittery silver, with make-up to match, produced a cry of “it’s a fairy”

from my companion. Not far off... and, indeed, quite magical.

Some lovely silly pratfall humour ensued as Luna wrecked Billy’s bedroom ETstyle to the accompaniment of Greg Hall’s many forms of music.

Director Sarah Argent and the creative team have created a little star.

The little diamond of the day was sitting to my left and she will be over the moon about her introduction to professional theatre... or should that be over the Luna?

  • Luna is part of Durham Take Off Festival, October 23, Durham Town Hall, 9.30am and 11am. For box office details for this and full tour, go to theatre hullabaloo.org.uk Viv Hardwick (with a lot of help from Leah