When my children get an opportunity to indulge in an hour or two of television they tend to be entertained by robots, aliens, monsters or pirates.
It’s often too easy to forget that it’s actually the simplest things which can engage children and they don’t need involve sword fighting, explosions or slime.
When I saw Mr Popper’s Penguins was coming to The Rose in Kingston, I thought this would be the ideal chance to take our first full family trip to the theatre. All four of us went even though our youngest hasn’t quite reached three yet – the minimum age suggested for the show.
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It was heart-warming, funny and incredibly enjoyable, not just for my children who were mesmerised for the entire fifty-five minute running time, but for cynical old me too!
Great performances from the four actors and simple, catchy songs throughout, really boosted the quality of this production, but the real test was always going to be the penguins: mess them up and the whole show is in trouble.
Thankfully, they were a triumph and although the penguin puppets were controlled in vision by the actors, they still managed to become believable characters with their own personalities.
This was down to great puppeteering and stage direction, which is evident throughout, but especially when all ten penguins perform their big routine just over halfway through.
It was a brilliant moment, a real highlight of a show that felt like it could have played in theatres fifty years ago and I mean that in the best way possible.
It was polite, warm and friendly. Genuine family fun with no innuendo, inappropriate behaviour (except a penguin nipping a bottom, but I can forgive that) or destruction of any kind.
If only more children’s entertainment could be like this.
Be warned though, those penguins are so cute you might want to blindfold your children on the way out past the merchandise stand. We now have two extra family members and my wallet is several pounds lighter.
Mr Popper’s Penguins is at the Rose Theatre, Kingston, until Sunday. Go to rosetheatrekingston.org.uk
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