What the Moon Saw, The Place, London, review: 'A friendly show'

The young audiences for 2Faced Dance Company’s What the Moon Saw are encouraged to come in their pyjamas. They’re welcomed by Kai Tomioka, who plays the young hero Jack, and helps everyone get tucked in with the blankets set up around the auditorium. It’s a friendly show, at its best when speaking directly to the child spectators.

Loosely inspired by Hans Christian Andersen, What the Moon Saw is the story of young Jack, who can’t get to sleep in his new house. Getting out of bed, he draws pictures that come to life, and is comforted by the constant presence of the moon – a man dangling in a hoop trapeze, twisting round the circle and waving down at the boy below.

Choreographer Tamsin Fitzgerald and her team create likeable characters, but the storytelling of the show is its weakest point. It’s never really clear that the crayons are conjuring the scenes: Jack shouting “it’s working!” while he draws just isn’t enough setup. Similarly, there’s no real development for Tomioka and Jason Boyle’s Moon.

Instead, the appeal is in the visual invention, and the warmth of the performances. Tomioka is a loveable Jack, curious and inquisitive and sometimes naughty. He carefully pretends to be asleep when his father comes in to check on him, but can’t resist sneaking out of bed. All the characters are emotionally direct and open. When one magic figure teases too hard, Jack stops him: “That’s not nice.” It’s a beautifully weighted moment.

Louis Parker-Evans is just as good in multiple roles. He’s the fond father who, tidying up, can’t help playing with the toys himself – there’s a quiet “beep, beep” when he puts a toy truck back on the shelf. When he appears as a sailor, he pilots the bed as a ship on a stormy sea, dealing with a bedspread sail. The chimney sweep scene works less well – it’s a less accessible image – but I enjoyed the way he wriggles about the stage, popping out of chimneys or emerging from between the shelves of Yann Seabra’s bedroom set.

Boyle and Parker-Evans combine to become a splendid roaring dinosaur-dragon, rearing up on hind legs and swishing a long tail. It’s a nicely judged finale, before the young audience are invited down on stage to help Jack finish his drawings.

Tour dates from www.2faceddance.co.uk