There’s nothing sweeter than the sound of children’s laughter and this production of Chicken Licken from The Hiccup Theatre provides plenty of that.

The story of Chicken Licken is familiar to many; the young chicken (Phillipa Russell) is struck on the head by an acorn and mistakenly believes the sky is about to fall in. In a panic, she runs around to alert all her farmyard friends. Henny Penny (Laura Goulden), Ducky Lucky (Brooklyn Melvin), Goosey Loosey (Laura Crow), Turkey Lurkey (Ivan Scott), in turn, join in her distress. Whilst heading to the Farmer Brown to warm him and seek his help they encounter Foxy Loxy who does not have good intentions towards the feathered friends.

The performers dressed as chickens in bright yellow with a red comb on their heads are in the auditorium to welcome the young audience. As the story unfolds there is plenty of lively music, songs and puppetry to amuse the children.

The production is signed throughout with creative captions and integrated audio descriptions for inclusivity. The movable set with duck pond and hen house is well imagined and colourful but feels as if it were designed for a larger stage and seemed a bit cramped.  Smaller puppets and Farmer Brown are shown as silhouettes behind a screen and a young Chicken Licken is portrayed by a fluffy Orville-like creature.

The actors are all very strong, perform energetically and engage the audience with much exuberant signing.

The chase scenes are a tad too long and some of the cast become a little shrill during the chases, but this is nitpicking and does not take away from the quality of the production. The children were still clucking as they left the theatre and had clearly been well entertained.

A  fun family production suitable for children aged 3-6 with enough to keep the adult audience amused. For more information and to book tickets please visit the link below.

4 stars

Reviewed by Nina Gardner.

Chicken Licken is on at the Polka Theatre Wimbledon April 5th – May 11th 2025

Suitable for ages 3 – 6

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Chicken Licken

Cast
Phillipa Russell Chicken Licken
Laura Goulden Henny Penny
Brooklyn Melvin Ducky Lucky
Laura Crow      Goosey Loosey
Ivan Scott Foxy Loxy/Turkey Lurkey

Creative Team
Writer and Director Sarah Brigham
Puppet Designer John Barber
Set Designer Rachana Jadhav
Costumer Designer Tim Heywood
Lighting Designer Jessica Brigham
Composer & Sound Designer Ivan Stott
Creative Captions Ben Glover
AD Consultant Ben Wilson
BSL Consultant EJ Raymond
Movement Director Stacey McCarthy