one4review | On 16, Aug 2022

We open onto a small house next to a bridge and flowing river before we are introduced to our duo of the show, the farmers of close-knit meadows. Little Bo Peep comes in the form an adorable small puppet, operated by the farmers, as are all her sheep. Oddly we have some fancy-dressed sheep, super-sheep, unicorn-sheep etc.

The show uses a mix of attempts to engage the audience with smells, sing-a-longs, and counting, with mixed results for the most part. At points we are asked to close our eyes and smell the flowers, however, I think we weren’t sitting close enough so I encourage a front row seat, but you may also get a bit wet, but nothing to worry about.

There were a few lulls in momentum as we weren’t sure what was going on when one farmer fell ‘asleep’, were we meant to shout to wake her or call for the other farmer. This became a bit awkward and went on for longer than needed and there were a few of these moments which detracted from the overall joy of the piece. Some delivery was slightly monotone and I wasn’t sure if this was a choice due to the accents used or just the style of performance but again being more playful with the children in the audience may have helped get more engagement.

Overall the production felt like an enjoyable hour that could probably do with a few rewrites and some attention to engaging with the children to get them more involved.

***
Reviewed by Matthew
Assembly George Square Studios – Studio 3
10.20 (50mins)