The Velveteen Rabbit – a vivid reality check whether you’re in the nursery or ageing towards obsolescence! (Replay Theatre Company and Lyric Theatre as part of Belfast Children’s Festival until Sunday 30 March) #BCF25

Really great theatre happens when lots of different creative influences combine to conjure up something beyond what the audience are expecting. And that’s the case with Replay Theatre Company’s new co-production of The Velveteen Rabbit with the Lyric Theatre.

‘Vivid’ barely begins to describe Diana Ennis’ wardrobe of costumes. A monotone angular robot with advanced features, a musical jack-in-a-box, a bright orange space hopper, a once-lush horse that is falling apart, the eponymous bunny, and the furriest bass player you’ve ever seen.

This phalanx of toys marches out into the Wee Man’s nursery. While they can chat with each other by the power of ‘nursery magic’, to the small child, they’re his inanimate and often abandoned playthings until he imbues them with life and love. The wonderfully outrageous costumes neatly constrain each character’s range of movement.

Darren Franklin may feel like he’s being held hostage on the Lyric’s main stage. Last Sunday night he was singing in the concert premiere of Belfast Ensemble/Conor Mitchell’s The Necklace. And for the next fortnight he spends up to two shows a day performing inside a box. Jack is the narrator of the piece, a nursery veteran who nervously sits on a shelf until his button is pushed and he explodes into life after a rendition of Pop Goes The Weasel.

Rosie Barry’s Robbo thinks it’s top dog in the nursery with an American accent, battery powered special effects, and the ability to shout “Emergency” at regular intervals to demand attention. Tara Wilkes plays the high-as-a-kite Wee Man, an eight-year-old who bursts into rooms, flips from joy to tantrums and tears in an instant, and is allegedly less rough on toys than his unseen sister.

Into this mayhem comes a Christmas present in the shape of a plush rabbit. At first, unexciting and naive, the Velveteen Rabbit (Jack Watson) soon becomes a favoured source of comfort and imaginative play. Jack and Robbo school him in the core principle that leads to longevity in the nursery: it’s better to be forgotten and gather dust on a shelf that be sent to the D.U.M.P.

Jan Carson’s debut stage script throws in the pleasing Kells/County Antrim vernacular that will be familiar to readers of her literary works. The occasional use of careful double entendres, together with the Christmas setting of the first scene, almost demand that this show returns to a festive December stage. References to wooden spoons and Leisure World appeal to the 40-year-olds and upwards in the stalls without ever becoming sickening nostalgia or a head-scratching impediment for younger theatre goers.

Applying Carson’s trademark magic realism to this already enchanted nursery world sees the appearance of real frolicking bunnies (Allison Harding and Reuben Browne with slightly more realistic costumes) who can talk to the Velveteen Rabbit. Then the nursery magic fairy appears, and talented Barry gets an 11 o’clock number that offers the Rabbit an escape from his trajectory towards landfill.

Director Janice Kernoghan-Reid weaves together the darkness and light to produce a show that could reach both younger and older audiences. Franklin’s sardonic delivery matches Carson’s witty script, while Barry avoids Robbo become a pale imitation of Buzz Lightyear. Watson’s Velveteen Rabbit shifts from a foolish innocence to a cocky assurance – you might say, he develops ‘notions’ – as the months roll on from Christmas, through spring and into summer. In later scenes, Ennis’ alternative ‘well loved’ head for the character shows how time spent with the Wee Man has worn him out.

Kudos to musical director Garth McConaghie and choreographer Eileen McCrory for drilling the cast in what has turned out to be an all singing, all dancing, multi-instrumental live and confidently performed extravaganza. Watch out of the tap dance break, and the crowd-pleasing megamix to finish the show. And applause should be deservedly directed at the backstage team helping everyone in and out of their elaborate costumes.

The cast perform Duke Special’s original music and catchy songs live throughout the show, with a keyboard neatly tucked inside Jack’s box, and a keytar hung around the neck of Robbo. Allison Harding’s character acting as a very serious space hopper (and later a real bunny) steals almost every song as she moves between xylophone, saxophone and drum rolls on a child-size electronic drum kit in the corner of Diana Ellis’ bright nursery. (And watch out for a recorder being played more sweetly that any of us ever managed in school!)

Replay Theatre Company’s commitment to accessibility means that ever show is live captioned. (A number of performances are also BSL/ISL signed and audio described. Every performance is described as ‘relaxed’.) The attention to detail in formatting of the surtitles brings out the rhythm and repetition with the lyrics, and gives the vocals extra clarity and heft.

At first glance, this adaptation of Margery Williams’ children’s book – which as a child (and an adult) I’d never been introduced to or read – tells the story of a stuffed toy’s desire to be real and loved by its owner. Realised on stage through the talent of Jan Carson, Duke Special, Janice Kernoghan-Reid and the cast, it’s also a tale about coming to terms with growing old and obsolete, heading towards the scrapheap of your career, and dealing with your value to others being undermined.

Replay Theatre Company and the Lyric Theatre’s The Velveteen Rabbit is part of the 2025 Belfast Children’s Festival and continues its run until Sunday 30 March.

Photo credit: Carrie Davenport

Appreciated this review? Why not click on the Buy Me a Tea button!