My nine year old daughter is a huge fan of the Tom Gates books, so when I learned that it was coming to the Regent Theatre in Stoke-on Trent, I jumped at the chance to take her to see the show. She has only very recently discovered Liz Pichon’s brilliantly illustrated books and she was genuinely so excited to see Tom Gates Live on stage! Here is our review.
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The author, Liz Pichon, the director and co writer, Neal Foster, and the Birmingham Stage Company have come together to create a wonderful stage production and a brand new story for Tom Gates fans.
The show transports you into the world of Tom Gates. So who is Tom Gates? Tom Gates is a boy in year five at Oakfield School who loves doodling! He plays in a band (the Dog Zombies) and generally loves antagonising his grumpy sister Delia, oh and biscuits…he loves biscuits (except fig rolls). Despite all the best intentions, Tom really can’t stay out of trouble, and somehow manages to get three sad faces on the school achievement chart! Four sad faces means he won’t be able to go on the school trip!!! And where is that school trip??? A biscuit factory of course!!
The show had my 9 year old daughter laughing out loud, with its wonderful characters, catchy song lyrics and hilarious story line. The show has a real ‘feel good’ vibe ….. you can’t help but walk out of the theatre with a huge smile on your face (oh and I still can’t get the ‘School Dinner Blues’ song out of my head!)
The casting is superb, and the set and animations just wonderful. My daughter giggled throughout the show, which was lovely to see, and I can highly recommend it.
Tom Gates Live on Stage is on tour from 14 FEBRUARY 2019 – 8 DECEMBER 2019
Don’t forget tickets are on sale for the 2019 pantomime at the Regent Theatre. This year it is Sleeping beauty! You can find our review of the 2018 pantomime at the Regent Theatre here
*Disclosure: we were invited to the press night in exchange for a review on the blog. All thoughts and opinions are my own