Roald Dahl’s The Enormous Crocodile at the Open Air Theatre

Beloved British writer Roald Dahl’s The Enormous Crocodile comes to life, looking for juicy children for lunch in a wonderful musical adaptation at the Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre. 

As a birthday present for Lady Yeya’s BFF, I got four tickets for a mother-daughter outing to see Roald Dahl’s The Enormous Crocodile at the Open Air Theatre. Ahead of the big day out, Lady Yeya made her BFF a crocodile-theme card with a Youtube link to the audiobook of The Enormous Crocodile.  There’s nothing like the gift of quality time together and sharing new experiences, for which I am grateful for. 

Little Friendships

It is lovely watching Lady Yeya and her BFF grow up together. I remember when we first met in the playground on a cold winter’s day during lockdown. Although the girls never went to nursery or school together, they have a sweet friendship cultivated through weekend playdates. Like Lady Yeya, her BFF is also an only child and has a gentle, well-mannered temperament. We even invited her BFF to join us on a weekend jaunt to Devon last year. The girls had the best time frolicking on the English seaside. It is heartwarming to see little friendships blossom with happy childhood memories. 

Beautiful Regent’s Park 

Located in Regent’s Park, the 1300-seat Open Air Theatre has delighted theatre fans for decades with its summer repertory. Before the matinee show of The Enormous Crocodile, we took the girls to the Gloucester Gate playground to burn off some energy. This playground is beautifully landscaped with climbing frames, tubular slide, swings, and a sandpit. Reminds me of a mini-version of the fabulous Greenwich Park playground. 

Then we strolled through Regents Park to the Queen Mary’s Rose Garden where “we stopped and smelled the roses.” Here, different varieties of roses awaited us for an eye-popping, nose-tickling horticultural experience of colours and scents. There are lovely views over the pond from the Japanese Garden Island, a zen-inspired space filled with Japanese maple trees. Before long, it was time to enjoy The Enormous Crocodile over the Open Air Theatre. 

Roald Dahl’s The Enormous Crocodile

It must be lunchtime and the greediest crocodile wants to eat something juicy like a little child. This was a brilliant musical adaptation of Roald Dahl’s picture book with original songs and great storytelling over 55 minutes. The ensemble included The Enormous Crocodile and four cast members who played multiple roles as the jungle friends and children/teacher: Trunky the Elephant, Roly-Poly Bird, Humpy-Rumpy the Hippo, and Muggle-Wump Monkey. The crew of jungle friends hatched a clever plan to save the children from the greedy crocodile. With bright colours and age-appropriate toilet humour, the kids were delighted with the interaction and shout-out moments with the cast, even throwing foam peanuts at the Enormous Crocodile. 

A lovely afternoon with sweet friends in beautiful Regent’s Park to celebrate another year around the sun. And luckily, the sun came out just as The Enormous Crocodile was starting to weave through the jungle.