WEBLINKS
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 |  | Review by Joan Cummins, Coventry & Warwickshire Reporter for Midlands Today
When Beatrix Potter created Peter Rabbit and friends she created a fluffy fantasy world that was to entertain generations of children - and provide countless marketing opportunities for reproductions of the famous animal community.
When Unicorn staged Peter Rabbit at Warwick Arts centre they created something more abstract than fluffy bunnies. In fact, there wasn't a fluffy bunny in sight!
I know the performance was targeted at the over-fours, but most children milling around during the interval and afterwards seemed quite disappointed not to have seen a pair of fluffy ears or a bunny tail.
That's not to say it isn't good - just different.
Peter Rabbit in this case wore a blue anorak and a beret and I'm still trying to come to terms with Flopsy, Mopsy and Cotton-tail wearing red, knee-length parkas and big white pom-poms.
I know I'm fixating on costumes here but with a minimalist set of chair, table and clothes dryer I couldn't help but get obsessed! And the getup of the white cat, complete with white mohair tank top, turban and ski-glasses should perhaps be seen to be believed!
Most of us know the stories of mischievous Peter Rabbit and it was interesting from an adult perspective to see how these were going to be translated for the stage.
I couldn't help but think that this adaptation was done with older people in mind rather than the target four-year-olds.
There were some outstanding performances: Bertie the Brummie Beetle made the audience giggle and the multi-talented Mr Jackson Toad/Mrs and Mr McGregor performance was priceless.
| 听 |  | Unicorn theatre's Peter Rabbit and Friends
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I think it is always a question of perceptions, I'd always imagined old Mrs Rabbit speaking with a West Country accent but was flabbergasted when she appeared to have Swansea overtones.
Likewise Mrs Tiggywinkle in my mind was always a plain speaking Northerner, so when she turned up speaking with a lilting Eastern European twang, I was slightly bemused.
It was lovely to see Peter Rabbit brought to life with his excitement at being the centre of attention, signposted by his repeated shouts of "Hussar", but I thought Mrs Potter and friends could have been more obvious about audience involvement with their catchy tune of Flopsy, Mopsy, Cotton-tail and Peter Rabbit.
This said, the outstanding memory of the performance is the catchy music, the talented cast of seven happily creating a swarm of bees and a medley of funky, toe-tapping tunes .This isn't a traditional looking adaptation but it's certainly memorable.
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