Show: Tom Gates Live On Stage!
Format: Play
Genre: Comedy
Date: April 17 2019
Location: Empire Theatre, Liverpool
The popular series of children’s books about the adventures of Tom Gates has now come to the theatre stage. And Tom Gates Live On Stage! debuted in Liverpool last night at the Empire Theatre.
Tom Gates Live On Stage!
Synopsis Of Tom Gates Live On Stage!
Tom (Matthew Chase) is a Year 5 student who always seems to find himself in irksome situations, through accidental mishaps or a lack of foresight, resulting in him getting sad faces on the classroom chart. His fellow students include his friend Norman (Justin Davies), Amy (Amy Hargreaves) and Marcus (Ashley Cousins). Norman and Derek (Matthew Gordon) are Tom’s closest pals; Amy is another friend who is more intelligent and focused on her education than the others (as evidenced by her having three smiling faces on the chart); while Marcus, despite having one sad face and no happy faces, thinks he is more clever than anyone else and often tries to snitch on his classmates, especially Tom.
But Tom always tries to be kind and helpful to others, as opposed to being a deliberate trouble-causer. He also has a number of talents, amongst them his musical flair (he has a band called The Dog Zombies alongside Norman and Derek), and he has a particularly strong aptitude for drawing. He also has quite an eccentric family, including his parents (Alice Redmond and Daniel Harkin), and his sister Delia (also played by Amy Hargreaves), the latter of whom is very pessimistic and often dresses in black. We’re also introduced to Tom’s grandparents, as well as Delia’s boyfriend, though she insists on nobody realising they are together and denies it at all costs.
Problems
Within this show, Tom quickly finds himself in a few pickles. For starters, he always seems to forget his homework, which does not impress his teacher. And with an upcoming school trip to the Biscuit Factory only designed for students who are performing well (or at least, for students not performing as badly as Tom is), there is an urgency to turn things around. This includes a planned drawing exercise on the Doodle Wall, which Tom and friends all take part in with his dad’s help. Unfortunately, though, they end up doodling on the wrong wall, and that wall happens to belong to a local Councillor. Much of the story concerns the Cllr continuously popping up in various places, with Tom and co. desperate to avoid eye contact and subsequent blame.
In the meantime, issues arise at home ahead of the planned renewal of wedding vows between his grandparents. Tom’s mum picks out a dress to wear for the occasion, only for Tom to accidentally lean on it when drawing a picture, resulting in the garment being marked as a result. He also inadvertently sits on his grandad’s lucky top hat while practicing with his band mates. It isn’t all bad, as Amy and Norman help to bail Tom out during homework-absentee crises, and the headmaster invites The Dog Zombies to perform at the school open day. But it always seems to be one step forward and one or two steps back for Tom, so we wonder how he can resolve his myriad of problems in order to showcase his talents and good intentions, and to essentially move things in a positive direction on all fronts.
Analysis Of Tom Gates Live On Stage!
As noted, it’s based on the Tom Gates books that many in the audience will have been familiar with. But it’s easy and quick to understand the personalities of the characters and the dynamics. And that’s within both Tom’s family and his circle of friends. It moves at a very fast pace, with almost breathless dialogue and stage directions for Tom (who is visible for almost the entirety of the show). At two hours ten minutes with a twenty-minute running time, it is timed just right as a whole, though the first half being a fair bit longer than the second was unexpected.
I personally like the way in which we see background settings. Screens represent classrooms, the Doodle Wall, the family living room and so on. But they manage to resemble first-hand drawings, akin to Tom’s own illustrations. This adds an extra layer when characters would use doors to come on and off the stage. In doing so, these entry ways become the product of said drawings. It also works well during other scenes, such as Tom’s dad driving him and his friends to the wall. There, we see window holes opening up to show their heads. Meanwhile, the static (and very unusual) vehicle moves across the sketches in the background.
Other Thoughts
In addition, we see the regular use of large-font text to emphasise a plot element. An example of this is Tom’s horror at forgetting his homework again). That happens alongside relevant sound effects to keep one’s attention. And it’s something that you wouldn’t find in other kids’ shows. A few musical numbers rounded things off, with an intentionally silly premise to garner further laughs.
Summary Of Tom Gates Live On Stage!
On the whole, Tom Gates Live On Stage! was a fun production for all the family to enjoy, in particular younger members of the audience. Simply put, if you’re a fan of the books, then you will love the stage show.
