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The Adventures of Bo Peep

15 08 2022


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The Adventures of Bo Peep

Based on the enthusiastic bleating of Knuckle and Joint’s audience, sheep and young children will always be a winning combination. The Adventures of Bo Peep uses puppetry to bring the titular shepherdess and her flock of characterful sheep to life, and take them on a journey across fields, lakes and mountains to get them all home.

The uncomplicated plot sits at a sweet spot for 2 to 6-year-olds and offers grounded storytelling for parents concerned with finding wholesome, easy-going entertainment for their little ones. The versatility of the set shows off director Rebecca O’Brien’s creativity, as do the funky sheep characters, such as super-sheep and sheep-a-saurus. But unfortunately, like Bo Peep’s flock, this show has a fair amount of fluff. Some scenes, like when the performers lay down their puppets to carry out tasks like washing apples and carrying hay, don’t engage their audience enough to justify themselves.

But whenever the puppets are on stage, they keep the kids engrossed. Their Bo Peep is far from the pale-pink picture that she is usually imagined as; instead, she is dressed in rugged farmer's attire with great attention to detail, right down to the stitching on her boots. The sheep too are charmingly weathered and matted, and the audience even get a chance to feel their wool for themselves. Sensory moments like that are delightful, but are too few and far between. Added to this is the unsuitable venue; a small lecture hall where the seats are too low for a six-year-old and the performers are isolated from the audience. The Adventures of Bo Peep has all the makings of a sweet, absorbing piece of children’s theatre, but feels too distanced to create that cosy atmosphere that Knuckle and Joint are striving for

Three Stars

 

Reviewed by Flora Gosling