This musical incarnation of the classic story about a talking marionette has been made by many cooks: Michael Morpurgo took Carlo Collodi’s 19th-century original and remoulded it to tell Pinocchio’s story from the boy’s perspective. Simon Reade adapts that iteration for the stage, and Chris Larner adds songs on top. The result is an exemplar of how thrilling an old story can become in the right hands.

From the first gorgeous scene featuring a luminous cherry tree trunk wrapped around actors to signify the wood from which Pinocchio is forged, this production oozes carnivalesque energy and has an intimacy despite its big imagination. It packs in the drama to become an alchemical mix of music, movement, mischievous humour and quietly revolutionary puppetry.

Marc Parrett’s puppets are bewitching, and the actors perform through them so they seem truly animated. It has a magical effect, for children and adults alike. There is a coup de theatre when the whale which swallows Pinocchio (Jerome Yates, a likable geordie), comes roving out, lit up from inside, with a small-scale majesty reminiscent of My Neighbour Totoro.

Every aspect of the stagecraft is outstanding. Yoav Segal’s set design has autumnal foliage hanging across the sides of the stage like bucolic curtains, with a giant luminous moon above. Jonathan Chan’s lighting design has a good play of light and dark, and there is stunning use of musical percussion.

Larner’s songs have a novel, almost rap-like sound at times and Reade’s book is delightful in its blend of innocence and knowing as well as fizzing humour, matched by lovely physical comedy from the actors.

There is nothing of Disney’s twee approach to Pinocchio himself, and the production, co-directed by Indiana Lown-Collins and Elle While, reminds us there is so much more to this naughty marionette than his nose. He is still on his elaborate quest to become human, and his nose grows when he fibs, but this Pinocchio has a wayward, adventuring spirit, a susceptibility to become distracted, and the growing pains of a boy who does not fit in. He also experiences hunger and poverty.

The double act of the wily Fox (Afia Abusham) and dim Cat (Eddy Payne, hilarious) is one of many highlights, as are the Kermit-like Cricket (Fred Double) and the Carabiniere (Jacoba Williams). Whether puppet or human, these characters enthral and the seven-strong cast, switching between characters with lightning costume changes, are stupendous.

There are some moments when the show talks to the children in the audience and explains its lessons. That seems right for a story written instructively by Collodi about the value of education. But this is squarely a crossover show, for the child within the adult too. Simply glorious.

ARIFA AKBAR

Lots of charm and enough subtle asides to keep grown-ups happy.

After last year’s drab, stroppy teen version of The Wizard of Oz, the good news from Berkshire is that this most intimate of venues is back on form. At a time when we tend to think bigger is always better, Simon Reade’s adaptation of Michael Morpurgo’s reworking of the classic tale has all the charm of a travelling puppet show.

Adults are at the centre of things, though. Jerome Yates adds a Geordie accent to a full-sized Pinocchio whose cherrywood origins are so realistically evoked, with wood grain etched into his face, that he may even give younger members of the audience a chill. Not to worry. Kids will certainly be enchanted by the parade of animals, including a streetwise bunch of weasels, a boar that has a watering can for a snout and a miniature whale that makes a majestic appearance in the second half of the evening.

Marc Parrett’s puppet designs slip seamlessly into the narrative, and Chris Larner’s jaunty songs are delivered with a flourish by a restlessly versatile cast. Christopher Bianchi makes an affecting Geppetto the woodcarver, while Jacoba Williams plays the harassed carabinieri officer, who tries to keep track of our young hero as he darts from one misadventure to another on Yoav Segal’s enchanting woodland set.

Jointly directed by Elle While and Indiana Lown-Collins, this is a folksy entertainment that contains more than enough subtle asides to keep the grown-ups happy. In his programme notes, Reade notes that Carlo Collodi’s original novel critiques “the selfishness of capitalism”. The social commentary is administered with a light touch here: a red flag is briefly waved during a workers’ anthem, and we get a couple of mischievous jokes about pensions and office culture.

Otherwise, the emphasis is on how a quirky individual has to find his own path in life. If the little boy sitting next to me occasionally seemed to struggle to follow every twist of the picaresque narrative, he clearly adored the Punch and Judy interlude which also gave the rest of us a chance to indulge in some traditional panto-style chanting.

CLIVE DAVIS

The Watermill’s Festive production is the delightful Pinocchio by Michael Morpurgo and adapted by Simon Reade with music and lyrics by Chris Larner and it’s an absolute magical Christmas treat.

The Watermill’s festive production is the delightful Michael Morpurgo’s Pinocchio, adapted by Simon Reade with music and lyrics by Chris Larner and it’s an absolute magical Christmas treat.

Yoav Segal’s woodland set is stunning and the attention to detail in Geppetto’s workshop is impressive, enhanced by Jonathan Chan’s atmospheric beautiful lighting design.

The Watermill’s festive production is the delightful Michael Morpurgo’s Pinocchio, adapted by Simon Reade with music and lyrics by Chris Larner and it’s an absolute magical Christmas treat.

Geppetto (Christopher Bianchi) and his loving wife (Lottie Latham) are happily married but one thing that is missing in their lives is a child. Following a storm Geppetto finds a piece of cherry wood and meticulously carves it creating the boy they have both longed for.

Jerome Yates is outstanding as the naïve youngster Pinocchio, eager to explore his new world and go on adventures. Some of them are hazardous. He burns his wooden feet by putting them too close to a fire and needs Geppetto to replace them.

He meets a friendly cricket (Fred Double) who acts as his conscience, a travelling circus and a one-person Punch and Judy show which is boisterous, although they can no longer use the slapstick, a good touch of political correctness.

He encounters a cunning, ruthless fox (Afia Abusham) and her farcical quirky partner the cat, played by Eddy Payne, who steal Pinocchio’s money. He eventually is arrested by the carabiniere (Jacoba Williams) and lands in jail.

Marc Parrett has created some incredibly wonderful puppets, including a boar built from a watering can, colourful butterflies and scheming weasels who chase the panic-stricken chickens. All cleverly brought to life by the cast.

As Pinocchio’s nose grows when he tells an untruth, it becomes a resting post for woodpeckers, who eat it away. He ends up being swallowed by a whale in a fascinating underwater scene.

Inventively co-directed by Elle While and Indiana Lown-Collins, this heartwarming production, filled with energetic dance, is so much fun and performed with flair by a multi-talented company. It does have a happy ending and is the ideal family entertainment .

It’s amazing. Do go!

ROBIN STRAPP