Who could forget about Judith Kerr’s egg-eating, burglar-foiling, V.E.T.-fearing Mog? Fuzzy of tail and white of paw, with expectant eyes and loving smile, she has waited more than 50 years for her stage debut. Happily it is theatrical catnip: a delightful hour that adds songs to Kerr’s stories and is elevated by an uncannily feline performance from Hanora Kamen.
Mog, Kerr told readers, didn’t like things to be exciting: “She liked them to be the same.” Her fans may agree when it comes to adaptations. Kerr’s elegant tale The Tiger Who Came to Tea has already been turned into a boisterous musical that roars rather than purrs. But the Wardrobe Ensemble’s Mog – co-produced with London’s Old Vic and Northampton’s Royal and Derngate – honours Kerr’s blend of warm humour, surreal reverie and gentle rumpus.
