‘Here we find the penguin,” intones the narrator of a mock nature doc about Antarctica’s rookeries. Three of these marvellous, flightless birds waddle across the stage and the Attenborough-alike voiceover deems them “notoriously clumsy”. Cue disgruntled squawks as the penguins take over and tell their own story – or, rather, an expanded version of Chris Haughton’s picturebook about a flippered but unflappable mum searching for dinner while dad looks after their chick.
The playful theatre company Can’t Sit Still, who rustled up a lovable adaptation of Haughton’s Oh No, George! a few years back, have struck gold again. Director Catherine Boot’s show for over-threes (in association with the Albany and Stockton’s Arc) is similarly sprightly. It puts circus skills at the heart of sophisticated storytelling which seamlessly includes creative captioning (using the distinctive font from Haughton’s book), projections (featuring his illustrations) and British Sign Language from the cast of three.
There are plenty of Antarctic antics in this study of penguin behaviour, down to the regurgitated serving of dinner, but the scenario is familiar for children. Daddy Penguin (Nathan Johnston) has fun at home with the chick (James Gill) while Mummy (Sorcha Lockyer) goes away; as the hours pass by both get increasingly frazzled waiting for her return. These birds use kazoos to communicate and their call is initially larky but increasingly heartfelt. The result is as fun and tender as Filskit Theatre’s penguin show Huddle, which is back at London’s Unicorn this Christmas.
Laura McEwen’s designs are a delight: the snowscape of a set is complemented by Luke Thomas’s chilly compositions and Alexandra Stafford’s rippled lighting. These penguins are smartly dressed in corduroy, as are a pair of bespectacled seals who engage in “polar Pilates”. But alongside such comic interludes are elegant acrobatic aerial pole sequences from circus director Martha Harrison, with Lockyer conveying the creature’s distinctive dive and glide.
All of this perfectly suits the big top-style Albany auditorium where, reunited, the plucky trio deliver an irresistible charleston, rounding off a seasonal crowdpleaser that’s not just for Christmas. Well done, penguins!
At the Albany, London, until 24 December
