This puppet-based show is aimed at ages 3+ and is a high quality, seamless and visually engaging production that parents will probably enjoy as much as their children. As might be expected from a Little Angel / RSC collaboration, the craft disciplines employed are all of the highest order and this, refreshingly, includes the art of storytelling. Loosely basing the show on characters from Shakespeare’s The Tempest, writer Michael Rosen sets the production at a future point when Miranda has left the island and has her own young daughter, Isabella. It won’t stop raining outside and to pass the time the mother tells stories of Grandpa Prospero, his magic book and magic staff.
Through sorcery or imagination (it is left open to interpretation) Isabella travels back to the island where she meets the lovable Caliban and his teasing rival Ariel, each of whom now possess a broken half of the magic staff. Through the interactions between these three there gently emerges the theme of collaboration, swapping and sharing, which is well pitched to the age range and includes enough audience participation, visual transformations and magic tricks to keep them absorbed. There are smatterings of Italian and the inclusion of some Shakespearean verse, but the educational elements of the show are never confusing or tacked-on, and are instead effectively integrated into the well-paced plot. The attractive puppets are large enough to fill the large stage space and are skilfully brought to life through well-choreographed manipulation and great character voices. The two talented performers create a range of engaging relationships, and deliver some charming songs accompanied by various instruments, from a ukulele to hand-bells. One of these, ‘I’m just a little magic staff’, exemplifies how the production effectively marries music, story and puppetry through artful sim