Fabulous vulpine fun to be had in a toe-tapping, showbiz musical where the wolves take on big pig-ness to save their home using friendship, collaboration and solidarity. Rating
Excellent!
The Puppet Theatre Barge is back at Richmond Riverside for the summer, bringing with it an amazing animal adventure that serves up heaps of hilarious family entertainment – The Three Little Wolves.
As you might expect from the Barge (where things are often quite out of the ordinary), the more traditional tale of The Three Little Pigs is subverted here, so that it is three wolves who are battling one great big greedy pig to save their home. Well, when I say three wolves, it’s actually one wolf (Lupe, an opera singer extraordinaire), a fox (Foxy, a talented magician) and a hyena (HaHa, a wannabe stand up comedian). They’re a kind of found family and the trio love running their floating theatre barge together with their friends. But things have been tough for Foxy and HaHa since Lupe was offered a sparkling career in Hollywoof. It gets worse when nasty landlord Piggy Piggerson comes demanding money and suddenly there’s a real danger they will lose their home and business. There’s only one thing to do to raise the cash – put on a show! This takes them across (and below) London looking for new acts to delight their audiences.
Written by Nick Cassenbaum, this brilliantly entertaining show fabulously embraces the energy of Vaudevillian showbiz and circus acts. Fizzing with fun, full of cheeky surprises and dynamic movement, it is definitely one of those ‘swan on the water’ moments, where there’s a huge amount of activity going on beneath the surface while the complex performance above is seamlessly synchronised.
Puppets pop up from all directions, using the tiny space and flexible set in inventive and unexpected ways. The wolves themselves are beautifully made glove puppets, full of character and operated skilfully by Ailsa Dalling and Stan Middleton, but they meet a huge number of additional characters who bring the story brilliantly to life. Piggy Piggerson is most definitely in the running for villain of the year. There’s also a talented, tap dancing mouse, Ginger, and Reggie Crayfish who brings a slippery eel along as his ‘mussel’. We’ve got slapstick and traditional circus acts, including a keen but slightly rubbish acro-bat, Juan the lion taming pigeon. And there’s real magic, with a mouse sawn in half before your very eyes! A host of voice actors add texture and interest to the performance, with Debbie Chazen as the narrator pulling the whole thing together neatly.
The star of the show is undoubtedly the marvellous music by Josh Middleton, which has the audience tapping their feet from the off, and with more than one earworm amongst the many varied songs and themes (I’m still singing “Oh no, we have to put on a show” hours later!). Musical styles are suggestive of everything from The Sooty Show to The Muppet Show to opera and ballet, which keep energy levels high and propel the story from one funny scene to the next.
This is great storytelling that has the young audience excited and engrossed, clapping along and cheering for the team as they try to beat the capitalist swine and save the day by using their friendship and talent. At just 50 minutes runtime it’s the perfect length for the youngest of the 4-10 years suggested age range, with plenty of laughs for older children and even a few funny nods for an adult audience to enjoy. The Barge is only in Richmond throughout August, so get on down to the riverside while you can for this full on theatrical, joyful puppet musical.
Directed by Kate Middleton
Written by Nick Cassenbaum
Original Music by Josh Middleton
Puppet Design by Stan Middleton
Lyrics by Nick Cassenbaum & Josh Middleton
Mixing by Tim Karp
Music Recording by Eduardo Allertsen at That Sound Studio
Voice Recording and Sound Design by Josh Middleton
Puppet/prop makers: Shannon Topliss, Liberty Mann Beez, Barry Lyndie Wright, Charlie Tyms, Stan Middleton
Costumes: Amy Rowe
Scenography: Ailsa Dalling
London Backcloth: Jess Shead
MUSICIANS
Josh Middleton – Accordion, Piano, Harp
Tim Karp – Banjo, Guitar
Giuliano Osella – Drum Kit, Percussion
Nina Harries – Double Bass
Yusuf Narçin – Trombone
VOICE ACTORS
Debbie Chazen – Narrator
Thalissa Teixeira – Foxy Loxy
Lucy Mangan – Haha/Goat
Stan Middleton – Acrobat, Lupe, Lion, Flip the Seal
Oliver Dench – Piggy Piggerson
Jason Flemyng – Reggie Crayfish
Coral Bevan – Ginger the Mouse, Owl Newsreporter
Pablo Luque Redondo – Juan the Pigeon
Nick Cassenbaum – Eel
Josh Middleton – Flop the Seal
The Three Little Wolves is aimed at ages 4-10 years and plays at the Puppet Theatre Barge until Sunday 4 October.
