Ruby Redfort

What happens in the show?

13-year-old Ruby Redfort is well known for being great at solving riddles and breaking codes. She is recruited by a secret agency called Spectrum after her parents get mixed up in a plot to steal a supernatural statue. The story follow’s Ruby’s attempts to discover the criminals’ plans and save the statue.

Describe the show in five words

Mysterious, clever, gripping, action-packed, witty.

Who was your favourite character and why?

Clancy Crew, Ruby’s best friend. Although he does help Ruby he’s really there as the comic relief, and he lightens the mood when the plot gets a bit tense. Also, having him is handy as it means that Ruby sometimes has to summarise what’s happening to Clancy, and that’s useful for the audience, especially if a younger one had to run out to the loo!

Were there any characters you didn’t like?

I didn’t really dislike anyone, but if I had to pick I’d say that the main baddie, The Count, was my least favourite. I know that the actor was intentionally hamming it up to be funny, but I found his accent a little bit annoying.

What did you like most about the show?

I liked how the actors used the luminous poles. They used them as lifts, corridors, frames and screens. It created movement, different scenes and made it feel almost like another world at times. Also, the fact there was extensive use of different coloured lights for the scenes involving Spectrum was a clever touch.

What didn’t you like about the show?

I would’ve liked Ruby’s dog to be in more scenes, only because it was a cool little puppet and I think I’d like one for myself.

If there were songs or music in the show, what did you think of it/them?

There were little bits of background music to link from one scene to another. My dad said they choose some good tunes, but I didn’t really notice as I was thinking about how the plot was progressing.

Would you tell your friends to come and see the show?

Yes, we actually participated in The Authors Live (a series of live online broadcasts by top children’s authors) at school, where Lauren Child read a chapter of the latest Ruby Redfort book, and talked about the character and what inspired her to write the various stories. Quite a few people in my class enjoyed that and I think they’d really enjoy seeing the characters come to life.