“Most kids my age (I’m 10 by the way) are very familiar with Andy Griffiths hilarious ‘Just’ series…Most of the kids in the audience were primary school age, and when I say that they loved it, I MEAN THEY LOVED IT!”
“Parents, take your kids along ASAP. They’ll love you for it!”
Chloe Delle-Vedove
4 /5 stars
It can be risky making an adaptation of well loved stories. Most kids my age (I’m 10 by the way) are very familiar with Andy Griffiths hilarious ‘Just’ series. For years I have been collecting these books and they have never disappointed me. I’m super happy to announce that the writer Robin Goldsworthy has delivered an amazing adaptation, brought cleverly to life under the terrific direction from Blazey Best. In short, this show was just amazing!!
Basically, Andy (Jack Angwin), Danny (Sam Bowden) and Lisa (Kelly Monisse) all wanted to beat their nemesis Tanya Shepherd in a short story contest…but things didn’t fully go to plan. Andy couldn’t get his creative streak on for around 6 hours, Danny was quite unhelpful most of the time and Lisa was probably the most put together person there…until she turned into a mud woman! Even when they finished the story…ANDY RIPPED IT UP!!! Which got me scared for a second but then he said “we don’t need that story – this is the story”! Who knows if they won, but I am pretty confident they would have.
There were MANY highlights for me in this fun show, including the set design by James Browne. It was really amazing how the bookshelves would move around for Andy’s stories and the awesome musical act at the end! I also loved the audience participation. Most of the kids in the audience were primary school age, and when I say that they loved it, I MEAN THEY LOVED IT! The kids laughed at all the butt and bathroom jokes and yelled out what should happen next in the story, and there were even a few grown up jokes to keep the parents going. Everyone had a great time!
The three performers all did a terrific job, but the stand out performer for me would be Sam Bowden who played Danny, because he had great comic timing and was very believable. But I still reckon Jack and Kelly did amazing! All in all I LOVED the show and definitely recommend it! Parents, take your kids along ASAP. They’ll love you for it!
Chloe Delle-Vedove, Theatre Now
