“Henry loves books, but not like you and I, not quite. Henry loves to EAT books. And here is the best bit: the more he eats, the smarter gets.” But what happens if he eats too many?
It is on this interesting and quirky premise that The Incredible Book Eating Boy is based. We are huge fans of Oliver Jeffers and this book is one of our favourites. The idea of eating books instead of reading them to (quite literally) digest the information within completely fascinates my kids. I guess it’s a good thing I have not caught them munching on any books yet!
So when they caught sight of the flyers advertising The Incredible Book Eating Boy as a stage production, you can bet they were eager to go catch the show! “Will he really eat the books, Mummy?” Mei asked me in wide-eyed wonder. Indeed, this is one question that would continue to keep the children in the audience guessing throughout the show.
Audiences familiar with the book will be glad to know that the stage production is quite faithful to its source material. A lot of the look and feel of the sets as well as the artwork is spot on and it really does appear as if the book has come to life. I certainly appreciated the little details in the artwork that were faithfully replicated — like the broccoli and plate of food on the table, the rocket on the blackboard in the classroom, Henry’s bed, and the medal proclaiming Henry “The Smartest Person On Earth”. Mei brought a copy of the book into the theatre and she was able to follow along and identify the different scenes in the book herself as we watched the show.
But while staying true to the storyline, the stage production did of course allow the performers to tell a longer and more complete story than the book permitted. This was achieved with the addition of more of a backstory that gave the character of Henry a bit more depth, and characterisation of his dad, sister and his cat Fred. The whole story was brought to life by the help of clever props, the use of puppetry, and song and dance. The kids were kept entertained by the physical humour but the adults in the audience were not left out either as some clever dialogue kept the more mature audience members smiling. I particularly enjoyed a segment featuring Henry’s Kitchen where Henry put together some funny (and clever!) dishes from books.
Lest the kids start getting ideas about eating books, we soon see that things start to go terribly wrong for Henry when he eats too many books, leading him to realise that reading books was really a much better idea than eating them.
Overall I did think that this show is better suited for older children aged 5 and above who would be better placed to understand the jokes as well as appreciate the physical comedy. Yet despite this, the verdict from my 4-year old after yesterday afternoon’s opening show was two big thumbs up! In fact, she was still happily recounting scenes from the show and laughing over them before she went to bed. That is, perhaps, the magic of theatre and a really good story — the ability to captivate and inspire, even when you don’t fully understand.
The Incredible Book Eating Boy runs for 5 more shows today and tomorrow. Catch it if you can!
The Incredible Book Eating Boy
Ticketing and Show Information
Season: 23 May to 25 May 2015
Venue: School of the Arts (SOTA)
Performance Times: Fri 4.30pm, Sat 11am and 2pm, Sun 11am, 2.30pm and 4pm
Ticket Prices: $58, $48, $38
Duration: About 50 mins
Booking: At Sistic counters, at sistic.com.sg or by calling 6348-5555
*We were provided a pair of tickets to the show for the purpose of this review. All photos used in this post are courtesy of ABA Productions. All opinions remain, as always, my own.
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