The Birmingham Stage Company is no stranger to children’s literature. It knows what is needed to engage young children in live theatre, and, judging from tonight’s performance, this includes pantomime-style villains (James’s evil Aunts), fart jokes and a main character you can relate to. But this is not all James and the Giant Peach has to offer. The production cleverly encourages children to read, and makes excellent use of the props familiar to children in their everyday lives.

Initially, James reading from the book seemed an awkward beginning. But with later readings and some clever miming of the evil aunts’ nagging, it started to seem like an artistic decision intended to link the fun of the play to the fun of reading. The everyday props used in the production supported this emphasis on children’s creativity, as an orange hula hoop conveyed James’ journey into the giant peach, a toy helicopter swung over the audience on a wire, and sharks ‘swam’ around the stage on skateboards and scooters.

The simplicity of the props and set was also demonstrated by the giant peach itself. Although for the scenes inside the peach an impressive rotating set was used, initially the peach was a giant balloon pumped up in front of the audience. The balloon later returned to the stage, and was batted around by the excited audience.

Audience participation is another important part of children’s theatre – everyone had great fun helping the peach stay afloat. The cast’s energy levels were also crucial to this. Although at times it reminded me of summer camp leaders’ over-enthusiasm, children were clearly able to engage with this exuberance.

As well as tackling the crucial issue of children’s creativity, this production featured some excellent performances, while a particularly impressive musical score sculpted to fit specific on-stage actions.

Tom Gillies was thoroughly convincing as the slightly awkward James, getting his posture and movement exactly right throughout. Iwan Tudor as the Grasshopper perfectly got to grips with incorporating the animal’s characteristic leg movement, while Rhys Saunders made a fantastically humorous and ever-grumpy Earthworm.

While this production probably won’t revolutionise your notions of theatre, it is a great example of how inventive children’s theatre can be. It does important work in making theatre and literature accessible to children in today’s world of technology, but is also an evening of enjoyable nostalgia and cheerful entertainment for all those young at heart.