Last night I went to see The Demon Dentist, a stage adaptation of the book of the same name by David Walliams at The Orchard Theatre, Dartford. Having read a couple of Walliams books with my son, I had a fair idea what to expect from the show and my son (8 years old) was very excited to go.
As we walked into the auditorium we saw a magnificant set, which throughout the show transported us to different parts of the "town", from homes, to schools, to Dentist offices, shops and coal mines, it was a very clever use of space and I admired it throughout.
The story follows Alfie and Gabz as they discover the new Dentist in town isn't all she appears, and they try to uncover her evil doings. Full of the usual Walliams repetoire of fart jokes, teasing, grotesque imagery and dark humour, it definitely made the children in the audience giggle, often in shock.
The plot was very simple, if at times a little bare, and while the songs were very basic, the actors on stage certainly gave it all their energy and commitment, although I must say the pace at times was a little slow. It seemed as though a lot happened in the last ten minutes, jumping from event to event, without really covering any of the themes (death, grief, adoption) with any more than just a flippant line or two, and it was noticeable in the audience that it lost the children in the audience' attention by this point. Act one had my son enthralled throughout, but he found it too scary in Act 2, so if your child is quite sensitive, you may have a similar issue, although I will note, a lot of the children seemed to be having a good time.
If you, or your children are fans of the David Walliams books, then I would say this is a very good show to go and see, as it remained very true to his writing style. For me personally, I found it a bit "padded out" and potentially could've been more exciting as a one act, faster paced, one hour show. Definitely one for the Walliams fans.
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