We’ve all thought about what it would be like to step inside our favourite story book.

I know my son Oscar, given half a chance, would quite fancy joining Max where the Wild Things are and my daughter, when not in princess mode, probably rather fancies a play date with Zoe and Beans.

So when we arrived at the Gulbenkian Theatre inside Sophie’s kitchen, this was likely to be as close as I was going to get to leaping into one of my favourite childhood tales.

The Tiger Who Came to Tea follows Sophie and her mummy as they sit down for their evening meal before being interrupted by a tiger at the front door who asks to join them for tea.

And having polished off all the food on the table, in the fridge, cupboards and all the juice, milk and water he can lay his paws to, he ups and leaves never to be seen or heard from again.

This musical adaptation doesn’t start quite where you open the book – watching first Sophie and her parents eat breakfast and her dad leave for work before the child and her mother creep closer towards tea time and the impending arrival of the big cat.

But that decision, although a deviation, builds the suspense nicely for the tiger’s much anticipated arrival.

And the kitchen and family’s costumes are straight from the book’s charming illustrations.

Making his stage debut, the Tiger is a little panto-esque with cries of ‘he’s behind you’ from the young audience.

And although Judith Kerr’s tiger chats to Sophie and her mother, David Wood’s theatre adaption musters little more than roars during his time in the trio’s house.

That said there are some fantastic magic tricks where plates of treats are rapidly devoured by the bright orange creature while an impromptu sing-a-long with Sophie, her mum and the Tiger garners much enthusiasm from the youngest theatre goers.

This show takes all the charm of the original story and mixes it with the sort of theatrical tricks so popular with younger audiences, making it a thoroughly enjoyable family outing.

The Tiger Who Came to Tea is at the Gulbenkian Theatre from Tuesday, August 18 until Sunday, August 23.