The Witches
West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds/Touring
3/5

THE WITCHES, one of Roald Dahl’s most well-loved children’s stories, is also one of his scariest.

Only minutes into the opening of David Wood’s faithful stage adaptation, the parents of Boy (Fox Jackson Keen) have been killed in a car crash, his grandmother (Jenna Augen) is warning him about the perils of bald women who have blue spit and he finds himself trapped in the witches’ annual general meeting as they discuss a plot to rid the world of children by turning them into mice.

The darkness is offset by just enough humour and positive interaction to ensure that the audience of children aged seven and above aren’t given nightmares.

All but the Grand High Witch (a scary, German-accented Sarah Ingram, pictured) are silly pantomime dames in bright costumes and ludicrous wigs and hotel staff like nothing better than to spit into the pea soup of customers and pull down mouse-infested trousers to reveal a ridiculous pair of shorts.

Yet, for all the promise, the adaptation never quite comes together and the second act struggles to engage.

There’s a particular problem with the portrayal of Boy and his friend Bruno (Jonny Weldon) when they’re turned into mice, with the comic potential of their size — with props of outsize sweets and half-eaten sandwiches — never fully realised.

The live music, played energetically throughout by the seven cast members, likewise augurs well but Dougal Irvine’s songs are unmemorable and the lyrics often difficult to discern.

Despite a strong ensemble cast and a number of highly entertaining scenes, those shortcomings mean that overall this production is short on magic.

Runs until January 21, box office: wyp.org.uk

Review by Susan Darlington