A CLASSIC TALE BROUGHT GLORIOUSLY TO FRUITION

Wrapped up snugly, cradling my hot chocolate in this spectacular recreation of the original Elizabethan open-air theatre, I didn't notice at first that most of the warmth was coming from deep inside watching this gorgeously enchanting adaptation of Carlo Collodi's 1880s serialised stories of a magical animated marionette in rural small town Italy.

- With STEFAN KYRIAZIS

John Leader, left, as BFG

Against simple wooden sets, Pinocchio is brought exquisitely to life by three puppeteers. One, Lee Braithwaite, also provides his voice and a deeply touching, palpable sense of wonder as he simply longs to be real.