Will Tuckett’s new Pinocchio, a colourful and rollicking hybrid that blends dance with song and speech, is aimed at children 8 and above. They are bound to recognise the anarchic character at its core, the irrepressible Pinocchio, the puppet with no conscience who strays into temptation at the slightest whim. The lessons Pinocchio needs to learn are simple: go to school, behave yourself, be brave, don’t tell lies, learn right from wrong, and you too can be a real boy. It’s a morality tale to warm a parent’s heart.

There are moments when this Pinocchio is absolutely magical, when minimal props achieve maximum effect, when the choreography brings sudden tenderness to general mayhem, when slapstick gives way to sadness, when the love between father and son exerts a beguiling hold.

If you don’t remember the 1940 Disney film, however, and haven’t read the 1883 original tale, you might get a little lost, for Tuckett should have taken more care when he mapped out his plot. Some scenes are overdeveloped (the evil puppetmaster Stromboli’s attempts to steal Pinocchio’s money, for example) and others are underdeveloped (Pinocchio’s growing relationship with Geppetto, the woodcutter who wants a real son). It doesn’t help that the Italian accents are way over the top, or that problems with audibility mean that you can’t always grasp Phil Porter’s words. But these problems pale beside the strength of Tuckett’s production.

Martin Ward’s excellent score (played live) provides both comic atmosphere and dramatic highlights, while Nicky Gillibrand’s costumes have an old-fashioned charm, and the Quay Brothers’ sets make a terrific virtue of simple resources. A tree trunk becomes an entire forest; a billowing piece of fabric is the Mediterranean; a fabulous painted backcloth is the Land of Toys; a clever construct of paper is the scary sea monster that gobbles up Pinocchio and Geppetto.

The performances, too, are top notch. Matthew Hart has the tough job of making the rubber-legged Pinocchio into something more than a floppy puppet with an orange mop for hair and a carrot-like nose. So convincing is Hart’s charm that Pinocchio’s naughty disobedience is quickly forgiven when one sees how much he loves old Geppetto. In the latter role, Luke Heydon is a doddering father with a soppy heart.

The charismatic Will Kemp is completely manic as Stromboli, revisiting the melodramatic excess of silent-film acting with such glee that you almost expect him to twirl his moustache. Charlotte Broom’s Fox and Tom Sapsford’s Cat are his delicious henchmen, while Cathy Marston, arriving on a wee scooter and wielding a magic wand, is kindness personified as the glittering Blue Fairy.

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