A Squash and A Squeeze staged for the first time by A Little Angel Theatre and Lowry Co-Production is an adaptation based on the book by Julia Donaldson, which is illustrated by Axel Scheffler.

This heartwarming and funny adventure is full of beautiful animal puppets created and designed by Maia Kirkman Richards, along with a selection of catchy songs and a cast of three multi talented actors.

The old lady in the story lives alone in a tiny compact house. She decides to take the advice from the passing of Wise Old Man to solve her issue of living in such a small house. The Old Man’s catchphrase is (easy peasy), and that is exactly what he tells her is the answer to her problem.

Anyone who knows the story will know exactly how many animals temporarily move in with her. The animals are all puppets that are operated by the cast of three. I thought the pig was very life-size, although I doubt very much thst a real one would be quite as agile.

As your own children grow up, you lose touch with what’s popular to the pre-school age group of children. However, with the auditorium over three quarters full at 3.30 pm on a Friday afternoon, it has to be a popular book.

These storybooks play adaptations of popular children’s books, which are really important if theatre companies want to engage and capture the imagination of the younger audience members who are our future theatregoers. By gauging the audience’s applause, I think they all enjoyed themselves.

For more information about A Squash and a Squeeze and future productions at Theatre Royal Winchester, please use the link below.

Four Stars

https://www.theatreroyalwinchester.co.uk/whats-on/squash-and-squeeze