The Parent Agency | Storyhouse Chester

The Parent Agency, a new musical based on the children's book by David Baddiel with music and additional lyrics by Dan Gillespie Sells and direction from Tim Jackson, has its world premiere at the Storyhouse in Chester. The story follows Barry, soon to be 11 years old, with all the pent up angst of a soon to be tween. Barry longs for a James Bond inspired birthday party but has little faith in his parents, conjuring up a list of all the less than desirable qualities he believes his parents acquire. Upon wishing for new parents, Barry finds himself in an alternate universe where The Parent Agency helps to secure the 'perfect parents', whose qualities are the opposite of the ones that he hates in his parents. However, time is running out and he only has up until his 11th birthday to decide on his perfect match - what happens when the sand timers run out, and is the grass really greener on the other side?

Baddiel’s writing perfectly captures the essence of a young child on the brink of adolescence, but also portraying a child with a real sense of naivety about the real world. There's a perfect balance between the nonsensical humour aimed at the target audience of young children, but enough gags for the grown ups to enjoy too. The underlying themes and messages are poignant, but are exposed in an age appropriate way whilst still maintaining an overall lightheartedness and elements of a feel-good musical.

Gillespie Sells' once again proves a master of creating catchy tunes and each song serves its purpose of propelling the story forward. With a great mix of upbeat tunes and emotional ballads, the music takes you on an emotional journey and is one of the many highlights of this fantastic new musical. Jackson's direction maintains the pace of the show throughout, and the moments in which the energy dips serves as a purpose of highlighting the more poignant parts of the piece. Choreography from Carrie-Anne Ingrouille's is high energy and captivating throughout, with a particular highlight being the football scene and the Fwhams! workout scene.

The casting is overall sublime, with Max Bispham leading the show for this performance with the confidence of a performer destined for a successful career on stage. Bispham gives an assured performance throughout, with great comedic timing, stellar vocals and the perfect balance of sarcasm and childhood wit. Rebecca McKinnis and Rakesh Boury both give standout performances as Barry's original parents, and multi rolling as all the different trail parents at The Parent Agency. McKinnis and Boury give completely different characteristics that separate the different parental types and it's pure joy to watch their performances bring this story to life. Another shout out must be given to Louis Wilkins who portrays Barry's friend at The Parent Agency at this performance, with an incredibly emotive performance in the ballad songs of the worries of not finding parents and being left alone.

The ensemble and supporting characters all do an incredible job in enhancing this story, with particular worthy mentions going to the captivating Elliot Broadfoot, multi-rolling as hilarious characters with a complete joie de vivre. Natasha Cayabyab and Kazmin Borrer are perfectly cast as Barry's older sisters and members of The Parent Agency, with stellar vocals and incredible stamina whilst performing on hoverboards. Joshian Omana complements the ensemble cast wonderfully with incredible energy and an eye-catching and expressive performance throughout.

The set design (Jon Bausor), whilst eye-catching and illuminative for the most part, sometimes feels slightly clunky and distracting in certain moments, with transitions not running as smoothly as they could. However, this can be forgiven for the early days within a premiere of a new musical. Furthemore, whilst some scenes felt full of life with the helpful hand of the captivating set design, some scenes left the stage feeling bare and lifeless. Dan Light's video design compliments the set design well, with a screen projector providing the different parental options for Barry and this is further enhanced by the dynamic lighting design from Zoe Spurr. Paul Gatehouse's sound design brings great atmosphere to this production, with sound effects bouncing off the walls of the theatre and Craig Forrest-Thomas' wig, hair and make up design breathes life into the musical.

The Parent Agency is a delightful new family musical that is bound to ignite a new found love of theatre in young children. This is a new musical with huge potential for a further life and it feels like such an honour to be witness of the start of something special.

The Parent Agency runs at the Storyhouse in Chester until 2nd March.

Tickets and More Information

★★★★☆ (4*)

Gifted tickets in return for an honest review | Photography by Mark McNulty / Supplied by the Production