"We don't break the fourth wall, we smash it" | 25 Years of bringing 'The Gruffalo' to life

Toby Mitchell, Artistic Director of Tall Stories, explains the company’s quietly radical Storytelling Theatre style...

Award-winning theatre company Tall Stories returns to Bristol to celebrate 25 years of The Gruffalo stage show, adapted from Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s best-selling children’s classic. The production visits Bristol Old Vic at the start of a major tour around the country. Artistic Director and co-founder of Tall Stories, Toby Mitchell, tells us more about the secrets behind the company’s distinctive, and deceptively simple, Storytelling Theatre style.

At Tall Stories, our mission is to put great tales on stage and ignite a creative spark in children; building imagination and confidence while simply having fun and joining in.

Theatre is vital for children’s early development. Over the past 25 years, performing The Gruffalo to over three million children (and their grown ups) around the world, we have developed our own style, 'Storytelling Theatre', and found that it’s the best way to really involve our audience in our shows. 

Fully immersing yourself in another world just doesn’t happen when you watch TV shows or videos online. We talk directly to our audiences from the beginning, we don’t break that fourth wall, we smash it. You know it’s a Tall Stories show because we prioritise the story. 

We use just the right amount of tech - great lighting, imaginative sound and music - without going overboard on video screens and projection. We ask everyone to use their imaginations and become partners or participants in the story, not just spectators. This means that when the lights go down, audiences of all ages lean in together to share the experience of being part of a great story, well told.

We also take our audiences seriously - creating the magical balance of fun, silliness, and adventure, with moments of truth and beauty added to the mix. We work really hard to make the shows as good as they possibly can be, each time! So even if you’ve seen The Gruffalo before, we refresh the script, songs and designs, making sure they work hand-in-hand with new cast members who bring their own imagination and personality to the characters.

Over the next few years, will be touring all of Tall Stories’ much-loved shows - around the UK and the world - including our original stories, and brand new shows on the way. We want to continue to spread the joy of Storytelling Theatre!