“Ahoy!” calls the greeting from our Expedition Leader, Sir Peregrine Falcon, and we’re warmly welcomed into our journey to Antarctica. Gentle and jolly xylophones score our snowy space and we are quickly whipped aboard a small wooden boat to set sail to our destination, where we are hoping that we might catch sight of the evasive and majestic Owlerbear. Of course with an audience full of toddlers we are never asked to leave our seats, which is a relief for parents, although many little legs do make it onto the playing space several times, dealt with deftly by the charming cast of three. Instead, the company transport us on a visual journey to the snowy south.

With brilliant object manipulation and beautiful stage craft, the aesthetic of the whole piece is magical in its simplicity. Little Bulb stalwarts Clare Beresford and Dominic Conway are particularly marvellous at magically switching between playing tailcoated penguins and moustached seals, being musicians and puppeteers of various birds, fish, and whales, and contemporary-dance-inspired snow flakes, scattering white paper with exaggerated pliés. Little Bulb’s recognisable metatheatricality here provides some sniggers for the grown ups but the little ones find it equally hilarious. Their energy and joy in play is infectious and I am utterly won over by their depictions of animals and environments we encounter along the way. There is a particularly awe inspiring section of deep sea diving that uses clever lighting and a cascade of bubbles to create a spell binding image of a watery world with schools of fish and an enormous blue whale to boot.

The show is also educational and informative (penguins are, of course, Southern dwellers), with a clear affection for our great planet and a will to enthuse our young audience with the same delight and respect for it. However, I am never made to feel lectured or notice that we are of course visiting a place that is under threat of irreparable damage. The beautiful images and elusive mythical Owlerbear allow the audience to intrigue and marvel at this part of earth. Perhaps the Owlerbear is a metaphor for our vanishing landscapes, perhaps it is simply a mad cross between bear and owl, either way, the Owlerbear entices the audience to follow adventures and dreams with an ethical twist.

I am impressed at the ability to maintain a one hour show with an audience of babbling babies and chattering children, but rather than attempt to contain this, the performers engage and attend to it by bringing the audience on side with numerous call and responses from Sir Peregrine and specific roles given to some, slightly older, children in the audience. The room is filled with two to three year olds: there is a school group of reception aged children and a good spread of parents and friends. I didn’t have a tot to take, but the show was no less enjoyable for it as Little Bulb seem to have managed that magical thing; to make a show that is both brilliant for two to six year olds and very enjoyable for adults too. With beautiful design and great comic creation of characters, adults are able to identify with confused penguins learning the ropes of parenthood whilst children enjoy seeing grown up performers doing silly stuff. With lilting music and mesmerising imagery this a show that really does play on two levels.