(left to right) Russell Morton, Toby Manley, Lucy Grattan and Roxanne Palmer in Mr Popper’s Penguins at the Lowry, Salford. Picture: Helen Murray
Mr Popper’s Penguins continues at the Lowry, Salford until 10 January 2016.
Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩
With so many children’s shows tilling the same well-furrowed ground, it is a real pleasure to come across a brand new family musical that goes slightly further afield for its source material. Written in 1938 by husband and wife team Richard and Florence Atwater, the original Mr Popper’s Penguins is a slim tome beloved by American schoolchildren but little known on this side of the pond. UK families who are therefore more familiar with the CGI-heavy 2011 movie adaptation starring Jim Carrey will be very pleasantly surprised by this production. That big-screen Hollywood version reimagined Mr Popper as a property developer with daddy issues, pretty much exorcising all of the quirky charm of the original book along the way. But if there’s one thing that this adaptation has in abundance then it is charm.
The love with which the creative team of Pins and Needles Productions has brought the story of Mr Popper – a humble house painter with unfulfilled dreams of Polar exploration whose life is turned upside down by the arrival of a surprise living, breathing, squawking package from Antarctica – to life is palpable, and the company looks set to follow its well-received 2012 Lyric Hammersmith production of Raymond Briggs’ Father Christmas with another sure-fire seasonal hit. The obvious stars may well be the delightful penguin puppets – designed by Nick Barnes and simply but effectively brought to life by the show’s talented, multi-tasking four-strong cast – but they are just one element in a slick and likeable production that works hard to capture its young audience’s attentions but looks effortless in its execution.
Zoe Squire’s designs play a big part in creating this mood. The characters may speak in plumby British accents, but the overall look captures the mid-20th Century small-town Americana of the Atwaters’ writing perfectly. The songs – usually the hardest nut to crack in this post-Tangled and Frozen era of Disney mega-musicals – also sit perfectly in this onstage word. Composer Luke Bateman and lyricist Richy Hughes give each number a sunny Sherman Brothers-esque bounce, most evident in the only-ever-so-naughty ‘I’ve Got the Chills for You’. But, like the Shermans, they are also adept at plucking the heartstrings, as in the touching ‘I’m Still Here’.
Emma Earle’s direction includes some cleverly creative touches, such as lead penguin Captain Cook’s relentless pursuit of the Poppers’ family goldfish and a SOS call answered by a bevvy of famous British explorers around the globe, with the cast delivering the precise physical performances such inventive visuals require. Of the performers, Russell Morton’s endearingly positive, handlebar-moustached Mr Popper and Roxanne Palmer’s supportive but strong-willed Mrs Popper provide the perfect pivot on which the action hangs, but it is a true ensemble piece, with Toby Manley and Lucy Grattan also contributing to a memorable gallery of supporting characters and cameos.
The one-hour running time will certainly leave some people wanting more. There’s definitely scope to expand the narrative – the story lacks any kind of strong antagonist, some of the misadventures contained in the book are omitted and the circus act Mr Popper ends up developing to make ends meet very much feels like an Act I finale – but the conciseness works in its favour.
The Lowry’s middle-sized 400-seat Quays Theatre also seems like the perfect fit for a show that could be swallowed up by a larger theatre. But, whatever its ultimate destination, for now this production works perfectly well as a 60-minute blast of pure entertainment and is warm enough to melt the iciest of hearts.
Chris Bartlett
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