I don’t know what we were expecting when we sat down to watch Puss in Boots but we left feeling that we had watched a fantastic piece of children’s theatre.
Puss in Boots is a one-man production performed by CBeebies Razzledazzle presenter Patrick Lynch, who is also the Director of Lyngo Theatre.
The simple setting could fit almost any venue.
It is a sloped, stand-alone mini-stage with a backcloth but fitted out with trap doors and drawers that can surprise and delight the audience with many different scenes.
This exciting and clever stage provides a lake to jump into, an oven to bake bread in and a ramp down which to chase mice or roll in the riches of a land that belong to the ogre — as well as being a hideaway from which more clever props can appear.
The play itself stands at 50 minutes, just enough time for a child to be captivated without getting bored, and I can definitely vouch for the fact that these kids in the audience were hooked.
I always love watching a show with audience participation and if you ask any child who was there they will tell you how much they enjoyed getting involved.
At the beginning of the show Patrick Lynch appears, coming up from a hideaway preceded by music and light. He tells the tale of a hard-up miller with three sons, fitting in a flour-dusted description of how flour is milled and is turned into bread complete with grain grinding and a fiery-fuelled oven for baking.
The story continues with how the eldest son was left the mill, the next oldest got his dad’s donkeys, while the youngest Felix was left just a cat.
Patrick Lynch then becomes Felix, with the cat a glove puppet with bright eyes and a lively red tongue.
Puss not only understands what Felix says but can communicate back, this soon sets events in motion with a plan to make Felix’s fortune, though at first he will have to go hungry unless he is prepared to eat mice.
There was a whole host of puppets and a star performance which brought the story wonderfully to life in an intimate and fascinating show which truly engaged with this young audience.
We are now looking forward to the next time the Lyngo Theatre are touring in Salford so we can watch yet another star-studded performance.
