Man on the Moon, Bowes Village Hall

DURHAM Book Festival in association with Sage Gateshead has produced a charming adaptation of Simon Bertram's Man on the Moon for children under seven and their families. Youngsters from Bowes Hutchinson C of E School and St Mary’s RC School, in Barnard Castle, filed into the hall buzzing with excitement.

For many, it was their first taste of theatre and they soon got involved in doing the actions and singing along to the Pinky Planet Promise song; a catchy little number where they promised not to tell Bob that the rest of the actors were really aliens.

Zoe Cooper’s adaptation is beautifully acted with a delightful performance from Samantha Morris as dopey Norah. You may recognise Morris from recent episodes of Inspector George Gently and ITV’s favourite crime detective, Vera. Calum Howard is the nutty alien, Terry, who keeps his tentacles hidden underneath his hat. His song and dance routines are full of petulance and poetry. Claire Tustin’s sensible Rita is determined to get Bob going on his scheduled daily trip to the moon.

Matthew Gundel’s Bob is a bit shy, which put the children immediately at their ease, but he soon gets going after a cup of tea as he dons his spacesuit to vacuum the moon to make it really shine and ready for visitors. Gundel’s beautiful baritone voice is a surprising treat and way above the standard I expected.

New Writing North has raised the bar again this year with its annual children’s production that’s touring the North-East until November.

* Sunday at Durham Town Hall; Oct 19, Bishop Auckland Town Hall and Tow Low Community Centre. For a full schedule and ticket availabilities visit manonthemoontour.com

Helen Brown