A Review Of Stick Man At The Leeds Playhouse

What a joy it was to attend the press show of Leeds Play House and Freckle Productions’ wonderfully whimsical adaptation of Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s Stick Man with my 4 year old daughter, Florence, who was utterly enraptured throughout the 1 hour production, immediately asking when we would see it again as soon as it had finished!

…What starts off as a morning jog for Stick Man becomes quite the misadventure-: a dog wants to play fetch with him, a swan builds a nest with him, and he even ends up on a fire! How will Stick Man ever get back to the family tree?

This award-winning production, from the team behind Zog and Zog and the Flying Doctors, features a trio of exceptionally gifted actors and is packed full of puppetry, songs, live music and funny moves by its brilliant, multi talented ensemble.

Florence not only relished the narration she recognised but also the new, original songs she didn’t. The use of umbrellas to reflect sea waves and later a snow storm was genius and the magic of Stick Man was brought to life in the production design and costume as much as the performances!

‘I loved the lady who was a dog, the way she trying to chase Stick Man was funny’ she said. She also lapped up the interactive element in the play where the audience were invited to catch a ball. ‘We’ll catch it next time’ she reassured me after we missed it twice.

You mustn’t miss this production, though folks, it’s a special one! Leeds is also looking vibrantly festive too and worth making it a day visit!

On until Jan 4th 2026. (Actors pictured were not the ones we saw in yesterday’s performance). Press tickets where we saw the utterly brilliant following actors:

Sam Makepeace-Beach (Stick Man)

Hannah Baker ( Stick Lady Love)

Jack Ward (Actor-Musician / Santa).