Review: Littlest Yak at Lakeside

At the top of a mountain in the Himalayas live a herd of huddling yaks, big and small. One of them, Gertie, is feeling stuck in her smallness and desperate to grow up and be big and tall. However, her mummy reminds her that she shouldn’t rush to be grown up and that we are all special in our own way.

Then, when the herd gets in a sticky spot and an even smaller Yak (Berie) goes missing, it turns out that her being so small has it’s advantageous and only Gertie is small enough to come to the rescue. Aimed at children aged three and upwards, it’s also perhaps a lesson for us all to try and be comfortable in our own skin.

This is a production by LAStheatre and stars a principal cast of three actors / puppeteers; Emily Attridge-Cox (Gertie), Louise Grayford (Fluffy Sue/ Mummy) and Darcey O’Rourke (Bertie). All of them clearly know their parts well, however, in the version we saw Bertie was played by the swing/ understudy Alexandra Rochford, who was so excellent in the role and by leading the singalongs she perhaps even stole the show.

The Littlest Yak is based upon a children’s book of the same name by Lu Fraser (Author) and Kate Hindley (Illustrator), originally released in 2020. The book was very successful, won quite a few industry awards and went on to spawn two sequels. It's success hinges around some lovely rhyming verse twinned with really cute winter illustrations of the yaks.

This stage version brings that to life by adding in some great singalong tunes (and some accompanying dance moves for the kids) alongside a lovely set that really brings the book artwork to life in a creative way. This show runs on various dates until the beginning of January and promises a fun experience for the whole family. 

The Littlest Yak is on at Lakeside until Sun 4 January. Buy tickets here.