JADAR

★★★★☆

Manchester’s newest arts venue, Factory International, has produced a gorgeous and super cute family show, filled with personality, fun and seagulls galore!

Lost and Found, Will Brenton’s faithful and magical adaptation of Oliver Jeffer’s children’s book of the same name, follows a boy as he attempts to return a lonely penguin to his home. He learns about friendship and whether the penguin was truly lost when he found him in his serene seaside town.

Olly Taylor’s puppetry is the star of the show, whether that be the mascot penguin suit and its playful arm and head movements, the lost and found manager and his ludicrously extendable arms, the tiny puppets (which I’ll come to in a moment), or the spectacularly animate seagulls that greeted children on all levels as they flocked into the theatre – one cheeky bird landing on my head at one point!

Particularly cute moments occurred when the characters would go off stage or be engulfed by a seascape, and tiny puppets of the penguin and boy would bob across the water – an illusion aided by textiles and screen projections.

The seagull puppets acted as the main comic relief and were rather expressive despite only making harsh cawing sounds! They would interact with the children, be mean to the penguin, or even visit the lost and found office to find their missing items along with other strange characters and a few cheesy puns (of course there’s a giant Penguin bar wedged in there). 

Jean Chan’s staging was simple yet nautical with two sea-foam blue mounds of netting and rubbish that obscured stage entrances, a door to the boy’s home, and the boat or bath set pieces which were manoeuvred in and out by the ensemble (who also doubled as the seagulls and various characters throughout the show).

The set was accentuated by Jai Morjaria’s lighting, which helped bring the show to life.

I was glad to find that the show had not lost (pardon the puns) the charm and character from its original media, with the comically large woolen hat, animated still projections, and some of the puppets and Chan’s costume still retaining the same cute, child-friendly appearances.

While I wouldn’t call it a festive show, it certainly had the hallmarks of a pantomime in segments, whether that be the “Look under your chairs” part when repairing the boat, or the award for helping them push the boat off the sandy shore. There were also a few comedic moments where they could have fully played with the “Where is the penguin?” “It’s behind you” motif, but instead the children just automatically cried out the response!

These moments were nice but I did feel occasionally that I was probably outside of the target audience, with the comedy often not quite hitting the mark for me (except the mischievous seagulls), which is understandable since the show is based on a children’s book, but it could perhaps benefit from a few more jokes aimed at the adults too so that they feel as involved and interested as the kids.

Despite this, the set pieces, story and puppetry were superb and really well integrated with the small set, projections and outstanding cast.

Gruff Rhys’ music is extremely different to anything I’ve heard before. Not all the songs were the catchiest, but the score is made up of fun, bopping music that matched the cool seaside vibes. The best songs appeared later in the show, like the anthemic song of self-belief where the boy relates his insecurities to the penguin as he wishes he was brave and adventurous, or in the super wholesome yet annoyingly catchy earworm ‘The Lonely Penguin Friendship Song’ (yes, I am still singing it in my head as I write this).

Lost and Found is certainly a great watch for the family, or anyone who loves a mixture of penguins, pantomime and puppetry!

Lost and Found runs at The Hall, Aviva Studios until January 6.

Photo: David Levene