Pinocchio at Theatre Royal Stratford East

In recent years, TRSE’s panto has been one of London’s most unpredictable seasonal shows, with composer Robert Hyman’s electro-poppy songs a constant but the writer changing annually, often to wild effect. This year, however, marks a return for Trish Cooke, who has written some of the finest TRSE pantos of the last 20 years, including the Olivier-nominated ‘Cinderella’ from 2008. ‘Pinocchio’ is not a traditional panto choice, but then the best of Cooke’s works have always transcended seasonal cliches and worked out as loopy, spirited plays in their own right. We don’t know a huge amount about Omar F Okai’s production, but it sounds like the story is pretty familiar, with Blue Rinse Fairy and Krik Krak the cricket trying to keep Pinocchio on the straight and narrow as he embarks on his journey to become a real boy.