REVIEW Pinocchio at Chichester Festival Theatre: 'This company never fails to deliver'

And then the tiers rose and the tears fell and that live theatre experience was reduced to a live streaming.

Not quite the same.

But what is the same is the absolute quality that this company never fails to deliver, even with a wall of technology between us and them.

Anna Ledwich’s new adaptation is played straight through (an hour-and-a-half with no interval) which may prove problematic for some of the younger members of the audience, but as an artistic choice, it’s right for the piece.

The stylised dialogue sits easily in the mouths of this young cast and the delivery is never self-conscious.

The music, by Tom Brady, is good and reminds of Sondheim and Stephen Flaherty in its complexity (Sondheim) and its ability to uplift (Flaherty).

The complexity of the vocals and the range – especially for those fragile, newly-broken male voices – holds no fear for the cast who both go for it and successfully carry it off.

The cast themselves are outstanding.

Alfie Ayling, playing above-age as Gepetto, conveys his fragility nicely and Meg Bewley and Annalise Bradbury as the Fairy and the Cricket bicker, cajole and encourage Pinocchio on his way. Lovely work, too, from Alex Webb as Mercury (a French dog. No. Really) and a beautiful little cameo from Barnaby Scutts.

The show though, on press-night, rightly belonged to CFT veteran Archie Elliot as Pinocchio. His diction is razor-sharp and his singing spot-on and his alien-ness most effective. His is a talent that promises much for the future.

Go visit, lockdown-rules allowing and, if not, get online and stream it to your living-room.

In the theatre until January 2.

Live stream December 23, 2pm.

Go to cft.org.uk/whats-on.