JUDE SAINT saw Zog at Eden Court Theatre in Inverness
To small people of a certain age (and their parents/guardians/bedtime book readers) Zog needs no introduction. For the rest of you, Zog is an orange dragon-in-training created by Gruffalo genius Julia Donaldson.
This touring show features music, rhyme, puppets and scaffolding, all used to great effect.
Zog and his friends Harry and Pippin attend Madame Dragon’s School for, well, Dragons – and accident-prone Zog wants to be the best and win a golden star.
His friend Princess Pearl helps him to breathe fire, roar and fly – but then ends up imprisoned when the young dragons’ final group task is to capture a princess.
All the roles, including Sir Gadabout the Great, are played by a brilliant cast of five who can all sing, dance and act – and scale the set impressively.
Your four-year-old reviewer did ask a couple of times “what’s going on?” – there were some parts that were a tiny bit too “busy” for little people – but overall it was a lovely hour spent in a packed theatre.
And there is also a nice message of empowerment in this story – Princess Pearl swaps her fancy dress for a white coat and a stethoscope. Oh, and her knight in stripy armour became her nurse, and she becomes the flying doctor thanks to her dragon friend.
Zog is on at Eden Court again today at 2pm and then at His Majesty’s Theatre in Aberdeen from tomorrow until Wednesday.