REVIEW: The Cat in the Hat, Palace Theatre, Manchester

BRITS don’t go for Dr Seuss, I’ve often seen it written,

Absurd, surreal, not to our taste, you seldom find us smitten.

Yanks, you know, those strange old folk can never get enough,

Of the cat, the hat, the fish, the pot, and all that other stuff.

So when an opportunity to see upon a stage,

Most famous verse that quasi-doc put down upon a page,

My kids I told: “Place down your toys, we’re going to see a play.”

And so began a road trip and a curious old day.

Over, done with, finished, gone, all within an hour,

No jokes, no gags, no songs, just rhymes, and several bubble showers,

Can’t say I “got it” then again, nor did my eight-year-old,

Who with a Subway lunch I’d bribed, and hence the journey sold.

My youngest son, too cool for school, sat with a stony face,

But secretly he liked it. Well, I think that was the case.

Just like the book the premise is completely off its gourd,

So if you’re expecting Pinter, then you’ll definitely be bored.

Children three and over are the major demographic,

And from average height in there, dads won’t get lost in traffic,

The plot is simple, all about a stripey little feline,

Whose aptitude for troublemaking sees him make a beeline,

For two bored kids, with nowt to do, in need of something fun,

What happens next stays in the bag, if you’ll forgive the pun.

In summing up I can deduce that Seuss, without digression,

Leaves you rhyming pointlessly: A strange lasting impression.

But if this Easter holiday like kids within this rhyme,

Has you scrabbling for things to do, and ways to fill your time.

Then let your sensibilities drift away without ado,

And then like me, you’ll quickly see, the point of this review.

Marc Iles