With The Gruffalo described in the publicity material to be “scary fun for children aged three to 300”, I considered myself to be — for once! — among the younger element in the stalls of the Playhouse on Tuesday.

Mind you, many of those around me were at the very lowest end of the target audience. A good number, I guess, had yet to be born when this Tall Stories production last visited the city — even though it was as recently as August 2006.

On that occasion, I reported myself charmed by the characters created in Julia Donaldson’s popular children’s book, which had been unknown to me at the time.

I was impressed, too, by the cheery good humour of the show and the hummable songs written by John Fiber and director Olivia Jacobs.

Reacquainting myself with the piece this week confirmed my good impression. This is a great way to give children a first taste of the magic of theatre.

Its captivating story introduces us to a sharp-witted Mouse (Naomi Said) who is roaming a deep, dark wood in search of nuts. There she encounters a series of predators (all played by the versatile Napoleon Ryan, whose name suggests ambitious career plans).

Each is a recognisable stereotype, with Fox as a crafty Cockney spiv, Owl as a gung-ho flying ace in Terry-Thomas style, and Snake as an oily and narcissistic South American crooner. The trio try in turn to lure Mouse to a meal it which she is to be main item on the menu. Each is put off with the (untrue) story that she has an earlier engagement with the Gruffalo, a beastie she has invented, whose favourite food she claims to be — again in turn — fox, owl and snake.

But then along comes the Gruffalo himself (played by Alan Park) and reveals his own predilection for munching mouse. Time for more quick thinking — in which, fortunately, our heroine again succeeds admirably.