Every now and again you stumble across a show that is so special, so magical, so perfectly presented you just have to tell the world about it. Roald Dahl And The Imagination Seekers is one of these shows. If you have a curious, imaginative, outgoing, creative child who loves to have their imagination challenged and has a love of literacy, see this show. My 6 year old was captured from start to end, as was the inner child in both my wife and I.

Presented by Interactive Theatre International, the creative geniuses behind Faulty Towers The Dining Experience, Roald Dahl And The Imagination Seekers is making its Australian Premiere at this year’s Adelaide Fringe. Director Robert Wilson has done a remarkable job capturing the imaginative world of Dahl in this 60 minute show. 

The show centres around Brenda Bogg (Nerine Skinner) and Terrance Tender Tibblestick (Robbie Capaldi), who are members of The Ancient Guild of Tale Tenders, a guild that protects the works of Dahl from being lost. Through creative games and audience participation that challenges everyone’s imagination, the audience works with Brenda and Terrance to stop the evil Wurble Gobblers from eating the words straight out of Dahl’s books. With the clever use of sleight of hand and a few simple, magical props, the audience sees the words disappear (and then reappear) from the pages of Dahl’s classics. 

This show is magical. Nerine Skinner and Robbie Capaldi capture their audience from the moment they step foot onto the stage. These two are masters of weaving a great script with the freedom of audience participation and ever-changing narratives. The show has simple staging and simple props, but bucket loads of energy and imagination. You don’t need to be an avid fan of Roald Dahl’s works to appreciate this show, and you’ll get no spoilers to any of Roald Dahl’s books you are yet to explore. Roald Dahl And The Imagination Seekers takes the key elements of his books to create a magical piece of theatre. No two shows are the same, due to the audience participation within the show. You could easily see it multiple times and still be as engaged and enthralled as the first time.

Roald Dahl And The Imagination Seekers is a brilliant production that must be added to your Fringe 2022 viewing. Shows like this don’t come around often. There are plenty of circus and acrobatic shows, but there are very few that challenge your imagination through the use of some timeless books, such as The BFG or The Twits. It has great heart, and honours and respects the creative genius that is Roald Dahl. “Those who won’t believe in magic will never find it.” – Roald Dahl.

Roald Dahl And The Imagination Seekers will be playing at The Flamingo in Gluttony until Sunday 20 March. Tickets through FringeTix or at https://adelaidefringe.com.au/fringetix/roald-dahl-and-the-imagination-seekers-af2022