Up and Out, Christmas Sprout, Northern Stage, Newcastle

LILY Arnold’s set is full of charm with lots of little individually lit houses and decorations hanging from the lighting rigs, filling the theatre with a delightful touch of Christmas magic. Her old-fashioned hardware shop, Sprout and Son’s Practical Tackticals, comes with a moving counter that doubles up as a launch pad and Willie Sprout’s bed.

The popular Christmas show for the under-6s is predictable, although Laura Lindow’s script is well-written and full of lots of nice ideas. The hero of the story is young Willie Sprout, a boy who doesn’t like change. He lives with his father in the shop, which they open for precisely 15 seconds every day and they share their home with The General, a tiny snail made of nuts and bolts who actually doesn’t do anything. Maybe The General influenced Tim Dalling’s music, which whilst very well played, moved at a snail’s pace and slowed down the whole production.

Willie and his friends find a (rather small) dragon’s egg that must be carefully returned to the The Looker Afterer in the land at the Back of Beyond. Unfortunately Tom Isted’s performance of Willie is disappointing, sadly lacking in both charisma and confidence.

I did enjoy both Karen Trayner and Hanna Goudie’s infectious enthusiasm as Willie’s helpers. These two tremendously likeable characters are also adept puppeteers who bring to life two crow-like creatures called snagpies, imaginatively made out of a couple of ragged black umbrellas.

* Runs until January 2 - Stage Two. Box Office: 0191-230–5151 or northernstage.co.uk

Helen Brown