There’s a taniwha lurking under a bridge in The 3 Billy Goats Gruff. It makes its presence felt and something mysterious can be seen moving under the bridge. 

Rachel Henry’s script is a panto-style show and takes more than a few liberties with the traditional plot so that Billy (Joshua Hopton-Stewart) is the son of two Scottish parents who want to set up a holiday park in a pristine Kiwi setting. 

Billy, who is more interested in getting phone reception and beetling it back to town, meets up with Mirama (Jaci Gwaliasi), an animal photographer who is opposed to the development.

Marvin Gruff (Ralph McCubbin) and Flora Gruff (Milo Haigh) get tempted by three greedy developers into building a helipads and a gondola but Mirama and Billy, with some trickery concerning the taniwha, sneakily see them all off and the environment is saved.

The cheerful, toe-tapping songs are composed by Joshua Hopton-Stewart and the cast of four all perform with the necessary energy and enthusiasm to keep the audience engaged.

Copyright © in the review belongs to the reviewer

After last April’s welcome adaptation of a New Zealand writer’s book – Margaret Mahy’s The Great Piratical Rumbustification – KidzStuff Theatre for Children has reverted to its stock in trade: adapting traditional folk tales with a contemporary Kiwi sensibility. And this one is a beauty!

In my review of Carl Nixon’s adaptation of Mahy’s story, I wondered if there was hidden social commentary regarding the treasure chest of Sir John (a.k.a. Terrible Crabmeat). There is no such mystery with Rachel Henry’s take on The Three Billy Goats Gruff.

While the focus is firmly on serving the primary / pre-school audience of children, its socio-political relevance to NZ and the wider world right now adds lots of fun for their older companions – and who knows what may filter through to the younger minds.

This time the painted panels depict snow-clad mountains and their foothills, through which a river runs, with a stone bridge over it (set by Tony Ferrier, cast and crew). This is home ground for self-styled “intrepid explorer” Miriama Jones, played with lively inquisitiveness by Jaci Gwaliasi. Her quest is to find the mythical taniwha; guardian of the river and its environs.

New to the district are the Gruff family of goats. Billy (Joshua Hopton-Stewart) thinks he’d rather be back in the city, while his Scottish parents –Marvin and Flora, delightfully manifested by Ralph McCubbin Howell and Milo Haigh – plan to set up an eco-tourism business with a few modest chalets, giving visitors access to bush walks in the peaceful climes of nature.

The trouble is they need investors. English Mrs Peacock and Australian Mr Canetoad (both played with relish by Hopton-Stewart) envisage 5-star luxury accommodations with all the attendant infrastructure. Our own Mr Don Key (Gwaliasi’s grinning malevolence is right on) can smell the minerals under the ground and claims it’s a great opportunity for “mum and dad investors”. Yeah right. 

Miri’s ruse of pretending to be the taniwha, abetted by an enthusiastic audience, offers an equal-opportunity satirical jibe to the activist sector. But she does have a crisis of conscience when she realises her little lie has freaked out her new friend Billy and his parents. And of course there is a twist at the end which gives mythology and mystery their due.

My only small concern is that some of the audience participation is a bit gratuitous (although the kids are happy enough to go along with it). But the all-important manifestation of the taniwha works a treat, as does the routine where Billy is trying to find Miri.

Director Hannah Clarke and her cast are fully attuned to the tale’s many layers, happily adding in quirky bits of business that both conjure with the givens and amplify aspects for those with the eyes to see (e.g. goat physicality; the quest for a brave heart; the quest for Scottish independence …).

Joshua Hopton-Stewart’s compositions serve the song component well and Grace Morgan-Riddell’s lighting adds subtly to the sense of occasion.

As always, the KidzStuff style is sure to encourage children to play out the story themselves and perform their own plays too. A marvellous mix of reality, myth and satire.

Copyright © in the review belongs to the reviewer