★ ★ ★ ★

Reviewer - Hollie

*Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in return for an honest review.

Caution: This show contains loud sound effects.

Fangs, floss and fun for all the family!

“Which one of you hates going to the dentist?” Miss Root asks the children of Alfie’s school. We all have memories of the dentist and in this new adaptation of David Walliams’ Demon Dentist, the award-winning Birmingham Stage Company has created this show for family audiences and schools. David Walliams has written many children’s books, two of which have also been adapted for the stage, Gangsta Granny and Billionaire Boy. This popular children’s book, winner of the National Book Award, has been adapted for the stage by Neal Foster.

We all remember the childhood thrill of popping our tooth under our pillow and hoping the tooth fairy will leave a one pound coin there in the middle of the night. But the show opens with the children from the lower school finding horrible creatures and objects under their pillows including a frog and a spider, instead of a pound coin!

The main character Alfie, played by Sam Varley, receives a letter from the dental surgery which states that he is overdue his check up appointment with the dentist by six years!

However, all of a sudden the clumsy local dentist is replaced by a mysterious new dentist known as Miss Root. With eyes that stare right through you and an evil cackle, Miss Root isn’t just any dentist!

Throughout the performance, the relationship between Alfie and his Dad, played by James Mitchell, is lovely to see and Alfie’s family background and story is presented by a diverse and authentic cast of actors.

Throughout the show, Alfie is joined by his best ‘girlfriend’ Gabz, played by Georgia Grant-Anderson, who was expecting to find a tooth under her pillow. But Gabz puts two and two together when she realises that nobody has been receiving any money from the tooth fairy. She creates a map and decides to become a super sleuth with help from Alfie after some serious persuasion.

The natural camaraderie between Alfie and Gabz makes the show relatable to children and teens alike. There are some excellent performances from the small ensemble of nine actors and witty jokes to make the adults laugh too!

Alfie manages to get a check up appointment with Miss Root. It is his first appointment in six years and that means that Alfie is incredibly scared! The adults in the village believe Miss Root is a respectable member of the community but with her bright red lipstick and her insistence that her patients call her ‘Mummy’, Miss Root is a troublesome and terrifying dentist! Emily Harrigan who plays Miss Root encapsulates the horror and with her perfect and horrifying cackling laugh and her wonderful singing voice, she plays this character perfectly!

The mischievous music devised by composer Jak Poore, uses rhythm and rhyme which causes you as an audience member to continue to ask yourself what bad thing is going to happen next?

There is a lot of toilet humour throughout the show and there were lots of ‘eurghhs!’ in response from the audience of families, schools and adults. It really doesn’t matter whether you have read the book or not as it is a thoroughly enjoyable show!

The set design created by Jacqueline Trousdale, is an absolute triumph and the moveable pieces of scenery ensured there was constant movement on stage, which allowed the audience to feel that they were part of the show. The scenery constantly changed and allowed for the different settings within the story to be shown on stage.

Can the children and the villagers defeat the demon dentist?

This show is a perfect visit to the theatre for the whole family!