It’s the summer holidays and The Baddies have appeared at the Cadogan Hall to entertain the little ones. Based on Julia Donaldson’s bestselling picture book this has story has been extended and adapted to a musical.

It follows the tale of a Troll, a Ghost and a Witch, who never say please, thank you or sorry. And worst of all, they enjoy being bad and like to boast of their deeds. A young girl moves into a cottage near the witch. The three fought, pushed, shoved and made so much noise that Mama Mouse set them a challenge of collecting a spotty handkerchief which belonged to the girl. The one who succeeded would be considered the scariest.

Jasmin Swan’s bright and colourful set has a central section which can rotate to provide a cottage or a cliff and is cleverly hinged to create the inside of the cottage.

Mama Mouse (Lottie Mae O’Kill) commands the stage, acting as narrator to keep the story moving. James Stirling (Ghost), Rosie Meek (Witch) and Nic James (Troll) give strong performances throughout, clearly enjoying their roles with a mixture of slapstick and song. Laila Zaidi plays The Girl as kindly and forgiving and has a beautiful, lyrical voice.

There were some sound issues with the higher register which made it difficult to hear the dialogue at times and I felt the lyrics of the song were above the age range of the children. The children responded more enthusiastically when the well-known song ‘If you’re Happy and You Know It’ was sung.  The families definitely enjoyed the pantomime elements, shouting and waving when the story demanded it. The cat puppet was firm favourite and it’s a shame he wasn’t used for the cat song.  Naturally, given the nature of children, the funniest moment occurred when Troll farted.

This story shows that kindness and cleverness are better than bad behaviour. There are positive messages throughout which is exactly what we want our children to hear.

The Baddies is a funny, family-friendly show that is packed with music and mischief,

Reviewed by Nina Gardner

4 stars

Photo Credits  Jess Shurte

Showing at The Cadogan Hall Friday 1st August – Sunday 24th August 2025

Tickets and further information can be found at the link below

https://cadoganhall.com/whats-on/the-baddies-2025/