TL;DR : The Little Angel Theatre’s Festival of Puppetry is a highlight of the Summer for families and a fantastic showcase of the finest Puppet Art. This year’s line-up includes the delightful and enchanting production, The Pigeon and the Peacock. With a gentle pace, soothing live music and delicate interaction, this tale of reinvention is a great choice for first time theatre goers and their families.
A perfect calm falls over the audience at Little Angel Studios as the lights dim for The Pigeon and the Peacock. The studio venue, with its casual cushioned seating and intimate atmosphere, is an ideal home for the delicate storytelling that unfolds. From the very first moment, the show captivates with its ethereal soundtrack. Writer Miranda Lewis Browne on cello and Tereza Catarov on keyboard combine to create a soulful and enchanting score. The music, a fusion of Jazz and Classical, accompanied by evocative vocals, evokes a sense of soaring birds and unburdened flight, immediately drawing the audience into the story’s world.
The puppets themselves, both hand held and marionettes, are intricate works of art, and the masterful puppeteers bring them to life with incredible finesse. This is a show that truly understands its young audience, creating tender moments of interaction that are both personal and memorable. We sat a row back and watched the children in front receive a handful of pretend seed to tempt the birds, a simple act that made them feel instantly part of the performance. Later, children were invited to come up on stage to pin paper birds to a tree, a highlight that provided a joyous moment of collective participation, although it might have been worth drawing from a wider pool than the front row.
At its heart, the story is a charming exploration of ambition, reinvention, and the power of appearances. We follow the plucky pigeon, a determined underdog, who uses ingenuity and grit to succeed beyond all expectations. The narrative, as told by Miranda Lewis Browne, is simple and accessible on the surface, which allows for deeper interpretations and conversations to emerge. After the show, my two sons and I (ages 8 and 9) were able to discuss the idea of “peacocks in our society”—a testament to how the performance sparked meaningful dialogue.
The Pigeon and the Peacock is a short and sweet production (only 30 mins) that manages to be both calming and thought provoking. My only minor qualm is with the age recommendation of 5-10 years which seems misleading. While it’s certainly accessible to older children, I believe the show’s gentle nature and interactive elements make it particularly well-suited for a slightly younger audience, perhaps ages 3-8. It’s a show that reminds us of the power of gentle storytelling and the simple magic that can be found in a puppet and a song. It’s a delightful experience that offers something for both children and adults to enjoy and reflect upon.
The festival of puppetry runs at Little Angel Theatre until 31st August 2025.
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