From the vinyl record playing on the turntable to the decorative plastic fruit, her
on-stage abode looks as though it has come from the era of Betamax video machines. As if this isn’t strange enough, this charmingly quirky show for children aged two to four features a series of fruits and vegetables which live in little drawers in the puppeteer’s furniture.
There’s Madam Aubergina (a jewel-laden opera singer), the sleeping baby carrots and, of course, our titular hero, Potato. The spud, needless to say, likes to wallow in mud, which is a bad thing, as today is his birthday and he really needs to take a bath.
Cue much amusement for pre-school theatregoers as, thanks to Reppe’s fine sleight of hand, Potato manages to evade the soapy tub for much of the show. Meanwhile, we hear Onion playing flamenco music; he’s a Spanish onion, of course. There are plenty more adult-oriented puns besides, and a tonne of inspired silliness to delight the nursery-aged patrons.
Lovely though the production is, what it lacks (like many shows aimed at the very young) is a participatory aspect. Reppe’s request to parents and guardians at the outset of the performance to minimise running about by the youngest children seems to me to be an admission of failure. Two-year-olds are not happy (and nor should they be) to be dutifully stationary theatregoers, even for 40 minutes. Perhaps Reppe should take a leaf out of the book of the excellent London-based children’s theatre company Oily Cart, and design work for the under fives which gives them their own place in the action.
www.shonareppepuppets.co.uk
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