Pinocchio by Illyria Outdoor Theatre Review
Hot on the heels of their previous shows ‘The Wind in the Willows,’ ‘Pride and Prejudice’ and ‘Doctor Dolittle,’ outdoor theatre company Illyria brought their family show Carlo Collodi’s ‘Pinocchio’ to Leicestershire’s Medieval Deer Park Bradgate Park earlier this week.
Long before Walt Disney came along to adapt this particular story for the big screen, ‘The Adventures of Pinocchio’ were originally written as serial episodes in a children’s magazine by Italian author Carlo Collodi. The series became very popular and Collodi aimed to educate readers whilst using morals and metaphors to teach about telling the truth.
This particular re-imagining of ‘The Adventures of Pinocchio’ takes audience members back to the original narrative that Collodi wrote in 1881. It is a show about puppets, containing puppets and actors dressed as puppets. This particular performance of the original story brings an incredible mix of puppetry, humour and emotion.
Director Oliver Gray has chosen to stick closely to the traditional tale, and although Illyria first performed ‘Pinocchio’ in 2008, it has had a re-imagining for this season’s audiences. Father figure Geppetto, played by the hilarious Edward Simpson, is a poor woodcarver and toy maker living in a small Italian village who makes barely any money from his workshop. He carves the most beautiful boy puppet out of Pine wood and names him ‘Pinocchio.’
Pinocchio reveals his talents at talking and walking and Geppetto cannot work out how or why this has occurred. As puppeteer and voice of Pinocchio, actor Rachel O’Hare does an incredible job of ensuring that Pinocchio is not only a likeable character but a cheeky one too!
When using puppets, there can be a fine line between the association with Punch and Judy and Christmas pantomimes, but this performance emphasised the talents of the cast of four actors as well as the design and construction behind the scenes. Musical numbers including ‘I am off to school’ and ‘To Lazyland follow my lead’ brought energy, intrigue and fun to the performance for the whole family.
Pinocchio has to deal with tricksters attempting to lure him away into different fields and lands and the show had subtle touches that I could relate to Enid Blyton’s ‘The Magic Faraway Tree.’ The younger audience members were squealing with delight and laughing with their bellies at the hilarious moments provided by the cast throughout the show.
Playing multiple characters throughout the show was Hannah Bainbridge as Mrs Winkle and the Blue Fairy as well as many other roles. Hannah had been called in at the last minute due to cast illness but you couldn’t tell at all as her performances were both polished and witty.
Leading the cast with his narration and entertaining portrayal of the ‘Cricket’ is Nicholas Lee whose skilled puppetry provided the audience with many Wow moments amongst the storytelling and singing.
Across the last four years, I have thoroughly enjoyed all of the shows and performances that Illyria have performed. Their style of storytelling as well as moments of humour interspersed with character and plot development ensure that audiences always leave the performance happy and content and I am really looking forward to seeing their performances in 2027.
Will Pinocchio become a real boy? You will have to grab a ticket to find out for yourself! Pinocchio continues with performances across the United Kingdom until Sunday 6th September 2026.
Illyria are continuing to perform their three other seasonal shows across the United Kingdom until September 2026. They are performing ‘As you like it’ ‘The Three Musketeers’ and ‘The Pirates of Penzance’ at Outdoor Theatres and spaces across the country. Tickets can be purchased here: https://www.illyria.co.uk/
★★★★
Written by Hollie for Theatre and Tonic, August 2026.
