Peter and the Wolf by Sergei Prokofiev

Berwyn Centre

Sea Legs Puppet Theatre & Night Out

On a sunny, holiday afternoon in the Bridgend valleys most of us, adults and children alike, would be outside playing and pottering about or off on day trips, forgetting that we only have to look to our doorstep to places like the Berwyn Centre in Nant-y-moel for entertainment.  Yet, wonderfully, on this particular sunny afternoon an eager crowd of voices sat waiting for a puppet performance of Peter and the Wolf by Sea Legs Puppet Theatre in conjunction with Night Out.

The Story Teller (Rob Ashman) set out an integrated one man performance with puppetry, adapting the story to include his ‘Story Teller’ character which enables him to interact with the audience as well as tell the story via puppets. Here Old man Prokofiev invites Rob to Russia in order to tell him a story, here Rob proceeds to take his trip with suitcase and all – his puppet stage cleverly disguised as the suitcase. All the traditional characters are there, as beautifully crafted puppets and represented by varying accents and tone of voice: Peter, Redbird, Duck, Cat, the two lumbering hunters and lastly that big scary Wolf with its frightening yellow eyes. The puppets and set steal some of the thunder, lovingly crafted with bright colours and intricate pieces – the screen behind painted to depict the Story Tellers home and the Russian continent.

The piece was filled with all the tension and drama that it should have as an oral tale, yet it was filled with humour suitable for all ages. The mix of humour and drama kept everyone engrossed and willing to interact with Rob and his characters, from shouting at the cat to answering Rob’s inquisitive questions. As the tale goes brave little Peter cleverly over comes the wolf with team work and ingenuity having disobeyed his grandfathers express order to not play in the meadow.

Night Out is a community scheme for Wales that brings touring entertainment to the smallest of village halls and community centres providing a cheaper, local alternative that is sure to entertain.

There was an opportunity for the children to go meet the Puppets at the end

For more information on future Sea Legs Puppet Theatre performances visit their website here Information on Night Out events or getting involved can be found here  

27th April