The Gruffalo is fast becoming an essential part of the Christmas season – both the beautiful storybook by Children’s Laureate Julia Donaldson and illustrator Axel Scheffler and also the delightful stage adaptation by Tall Stories, which has enjoyed runs in the West End, hugely successful national tours, and is returning to artsdepot in Finchley this week.

“The Gruffalo is a timeless thing,” says Dan Foxsmith, who plays all the predators in the production. “It’s just so solid and there’s so much that goes into it, drama and adventure, in such a short space.”

The story is well-known – the quick-thinking Mouse ventures deep into the dark wood and comes face-to-face with the wheeler-dealer Fox, eccentric old Owl and the maraca-shaking Snake... and of course, the Gruffalo himself. Each of the animals intends to eat Mouse and he has to use his cunning to convince them not to.

Tall Stories has stayed true to the essence of the book. “We’re keeping it within the flavour of the story, the sentiment,” says Dan, from South Woodford, “and making of it something that transfers to the stage. It’s a very dramatic story and so strong and very physical so it transfers really well.”

Just three actors tell the story – two, including Dan, are narrators who take on the roles of the characters that Mouse encounters, and then Mouse.

“It’s quite challenging,” Dan, 25, admits, “making each character clear enough for the kids to pick up the differences between them.”

Dan plays Fox as a bit of a geezer, Owl as a military general and Snake as a Spanish flavoured bull fighter. “I love doing the predators, there’s so much scope to play around with the characters and interact with the audience. Snake is definitely my favourite.”

  • The Gruffalo is at artsdepot, Nether Street, Tally Ho Corner, North Finchley from Saturday, December 8 to Sunday, January 6 at various times. The performance on Saturday, December 22 at 3pm will be British Sign Language interpreted. Details: 020 8369 5454, www.artsdepot.co.uk