With the summer holidays almost here, parents' thoughts across the length and breadth of the UK are turning to how they can keep their offspring occupied through the weeks ahead. A chirpy musical based on Katharine Holabird and Helen Craig's wholesome dancing mouse would seem to do the job admirably.
Angelina Ballerina – The Mousical is on hand, and for the audience of rapt pre-schoolers it certainly went down a treat. (This is actually the second stage musical based on the character, following Angelina Ballerina – The Musical.)
The story follows the by-now-traditional tots-entertainment motif of the televised talent show. Camembert Academy, where Angelina studies alongside her best friend Alice, has been picked as the venue for an episode of Dancing with Mice, and Angelina and chums must put together a routine for the live audience. As tends to happen, the ballet-mad mouse allows her boundless confidence to get in the way of things, and despite her elevation to dance captain, Angelina finds she can't come up with a stupendous dance for herself, nor can she help her classmates through their fractious attempts to forge a routine.
The young cast really give it their all, socking over the trials and tribulations of the mouselings as they realise they must pool their ideas rather than scrap for supremacy. The only thing that put me off: the gender divide could have been a little less emphasised, as the girls are keen on butterflies and fairies, while the boys are into monsters and pirates.
Nevertheless, Joanna Gregory as Angelina proved a confident leader, with her female classmates, played by Sophie Summers, Katharine McNamara and Miracle Chance her effervescent companions. The two boys, played by Tyler Scott and Darren Burkett, were equally enthusiastic. And under the direction of Miranda Larson, with Isla Shaw's set design, the show is neatly put together, with the minimum of fuss.
Needless to say, Angelina's final dance routine brings down the house; a toe-tapping way to end an hour's fun for the kids. My four-year-old couldn't stop waving her Angelina cut-out in glee. Definitely worth a look.
• On 29-30 July in the Princess Theatre Torquay. Box office: 0844 871 3023. Then August 8-10 at Richmond Theatre. Box office: 0844 871 7651.
