Review: David Walliams’ The Demon Dentist at Nottingham Theatre Royal
The Demon Dentist is a humorous and heart-warming story delivering a bubbly and fearful world of zero tooth fairies and tiny detectives.
The book, by David Walliams, is brought to life on stage at the Nottingham Theatre Royal until Sunday.
Demon Dentist is a thrilling, exciting story from the beginning to the end, promising and delivering a room filled with laughs and some dentist trauma to youngsters.
It all starts when a new dentist, Miss Root’s (Emily Harrigan) arrives in town, asking the pupils to call her mummy and giving them “sugar free” sweets.
From toothaches, to toothpastes that burn through the ground, Miss Root convinces the audience – or tries - that she is a good dentist, showing her wicked side behind cameras creating the perfect balance between fun and fear.
Alfie (Sam Varley) who has a stack of letters reminding him of overdue visits to the dentist from the past six years teams up with his classmate Gabs (Georgia Grant-Anderson) to figure out what is happening in town and so the adventure begins.
From a bubbly social worker Winnie to Alfie’s ill dad, the play travels between a children’s story to a heart-warming family situation.
The entire performance is a rollercoaster of past, present, fairies and demons and lack of teeth.
It is the third collaboration between Walliams and Birmingham Stage Company after Gangsta Granny and Billionaire Boy, both of which received Olivier Award nominations.
Demon Dentist is without a doubt a play for the whole family. It has it all, from the mystery, to the laughs to the excitement. - MT
