Review: The 91-Storey Treehouse brings to life wild imagination

Wild ideas take on a life of their own in the latest theatrical production of The 91-Storey Treehouse, deservedly drawing a rousing response from young audiences.

On board the submarine sandwich in The 91-Storey Treehouse at the Adelaide Festival Centre.

Australian author Andy Griffiths and illustrator Terry Denton have cornered an enviable special place in kids’ imaginations with their books full of wild ideas and thrilling adventures, and they come to life in spectacular style in the latest theatrical production of The 91-Storey Treehouse.

On the Adelaide Festival Centre stage: Cast of The 91-Storey Treehouse.

Friday night’s last show at the Adelaide Festival Centre was packed with kids and their chaperons, as much as can be amid COVID-19 restrictions.

But I have never before seen the kind of response that this show drew from its young audience, who knew the characters, the elements, the ‘tomato’ from the ‘tornado’ and all the answers to Madam Know-It-All’s cryptic clues in rhyme.

To bring to life something that has already been imagined is truly artistic, and the cast, crew and creative team of the 91-Storey Treehouse delivered it in spades.

The props, including the submarine sandwich, the mobile phone buzzing with Mr Big Nose’s instructions and the fortune-tellers’s tent with sparkly lights; sounds that accentuate drama and language that feeds ingenuity – they all make for a thrilling one-hour ride.

Andy and Terry in The 91-Storey Treehouse at the Festival Centre

Don’t miss the next instalment if you want to hear what a ‘brain drain’ sounds like or how garbled speak underneath the sea can be perfectly believable and understandable.

Bringing it together are the brilliant actors – Rebecca Rolle as Jill/Bill the Postman, Samantha Young as Madam Know-It-All/Genie, Teale Howie as Terry and Samuel Welsh as Andy.

Jill is simply as clever as her audience knows her to be and Andy and Terry as ‘stupid’.

And if you haven’t read the book before or don’t know all its characters – like me – it’s enough of a fun and entertaining show to keep you engaged all the same.

And sitting next to someone, like my 9 year old, who is soaking it all in always helps.