The 78-Storey Treehouse

I was really looking forward to seeing The 78-Storey Treehouse because the books are best sellers and boys in particular love them. However, I have to admit to being underwhelmed by the production and the adaptation generally.

Thirteen more levels have been added to the Treehouse and Mr Big Shot has come from Hollywood to make a film, set in the Treehouse, based on the antics and experiments of Andy and Terry. However, Mr Big Shot is determined to replace Andy with a gibbon called Mel and Andy spends the rest of the play trying to find his way into the story. There is also a rival group of film makers, the Cows, who appear at odd moments in the story.

One of the things I really wanted to see was the staging and how they were going to present the tree house of the title. I was looking forward to seeing multiple levels with ladders and stairs, hiding holes and exciting and imaginative spaces. I was bitterly disappointed.

It was a lively and colourful production. The characters were highly predictable and stereotyped, no surprises or light touches here and the actors got into their roles with enthusiasm. There were some song and dance routines, which interjected a new energy at different points. And the production was fast-paced, however this was sometimes to the point that I had difficulty understanding the actor playing Terry because his words were almost gabbled.

It was a sold out performance and was generally well received by the audience, but it could have been so much more!

Sally Putnam 

Image: Teale Howie, Tim Carroll, Samuel Welsh and Freya Pragt in The 78-Storey Treehouse. Photo: Heidrun Lohr.