‘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.
