Ad disclosure: we were invited to the press event & provided with tickets for the purpose of this post.
On Saturday Georgie & I headed to Midlands Arts Centre (MAC) in Birmingham to attend their Kipper’s Snowy Day pyjama gala and see the new production, which is on at MAC until 31st December.
CLad in her festive reindeer onesie, Georgie was able to choose a new Kipper book for our collection, before enjoying a selection of refreshments, pulling a cracker, and getting stuck in with some Kipper colouring. The cakes were very tasty – what a lovely treat, and it was nice to have the one-on-one time with my eldest girl for a few hours, too.
It was soon time for the show to start, so we headed into the theatre and found our seats. With a recommended age range of 3 to 9 years, our 8 and a half year old Georgie is right at the top, but she definitely enjoyed it despite being a teensy bit old for Kipper. It certainly wouldn’t be a punishment for the odd big sister or brother to sit through, if you are thinking of going as a family.
Kipper’s Snowy Day is a stage adaption Mike Inkpens’ award-winning Kipper books, presented by Slot Machine Theatre. The show lasts around 50 minutes, and has elements of the books ‘Kipper’s Snowy Day’ and ‘Kipper’s Christmas Eve’ in the plot, along with some added story linking them together. There are also some lovely original songs and music which you’ll find yourself absently singing to yourself several days later… or at least I did!
This performance has a cast of three excellent puppeteers (Olugbeminiyi Bammodu, Lucy Clarke and Nicola Blackwell), who control Kipper, his friends Tiger & Pig, Pig’s cousin Arnold, and a friendly (and funny!) robin. The set gives the puppets a simple backdrop, styled to look like a blank notebook, which makes a perfect smooth white expanse of snow for Kipper and his friends to explore.
Kipper wakes up on Christmas Eve to discover a fresh snowfall that he and Tiger have a great time exploring. During their adventure they manage to lose Arnold in a snow storm-oh no! Some of the little ones in the audience got worried as Arnold got blown around and covered in snow, and even Georgie got a bit concerned – but of course it all ends well.
Throughout the show there were funny moments that had the children (and most of the adults) giggling, and the whole show was very sweet & lovely. There are projected scribbles, paper snow, ribbon dancing, and a handful of props which all come together effectively with the excellent puppetry to tell the story.
Kipper’s Snowy Day is on at MAC until 31st December 2019, and there is a BSL interpreted Performance on Saturday 21st December. Make sure to check out the gorgeous Kipper inspired Christmas mural by Jessica Hartshorn, too – it is fabulous!
Lydia is off to see Kipper’s Snowy Day for a school trip next week, and I know she is going to love it!
