The Gruffalo Tickets

Christmas will once again see a visit from the feared beast The Gruffalo as the Children’s classic finds itself on the stage once more. This time, audiences will find it at the Apollo Theatre in London’s West End, giving more children a chance to witness the adventures of Mouse and the perils he faces out in the woods.

“The Gruffalo” is best known as a picture book developed by the writer Julia Donaldson and the illustrator Axel Scheffler, a title that earned them critical acclaim and praise, proving to be a huge hit with audiences, leading it to amass sales of more than 3.5 million copies around the globe. Its release at the start of the decade led to it becoming the best selling picture book of 2000 and its story of courage and the imagination is perfect for retelling on the stage.

The story begins with the character of Mouse venturing into a deep dark wood in the search for hazelnuts, unaware of the circumstances he is about to face. Armed with only a nut map and his imagination he is ill prepared to deal with the predators he faces under the canopy of the trees. There’s the Owl, a retired Woodland Air Force Officer; Fox, a wheeler dealer and Snake, a party going serpent. Mouse has only got one way of dealing with them – to invent a story of a mysterious beast known as The Gruffalo, hoping it will scare them away and leave him alone.

Mouse’s plan works, scaring the predators off and leaving Mouse to hunt for hazelnuts in peace. But this not the end of Mouse’s story, for he soon comes face to face with the very monster he thought he had invented.

The show has been brought to the stage by Tall Stories under the direction of Olivia Jacobs and Toby Mitchell, a team that has managed to attract big crowds and critical praise each year that it has been seen in London, with three years at the Duchess Theatre proving a great success. The production even won the Time Out Critics’ Choice for Number One Christmas show.

“The Gruffalo” is a phenomenon that continues to find new audiences, with related products found in shops, a sequel picture book entitled “The Gruffalo’s Child” (2005) and an upcoming television production appearing on Christmas Eve. This onscreen adventure will feature the voice talents of Rob Brydon, Helena Bonham Carter, James Corden, Robbie Coltrane, Tom Wilkinson and John Hurt.

“The Gruffalo” will be dishing out some daytime shows at the Apollo Theatre from Wednesday 25th November 2009 to Sunday 10th January 2010.