Puppet Festival: Puffling Percy
Aimed at ages 3-8
Duration: 55 minutes approx.
Percy is a puffling who loves his burrow a little too much. Map & Pap want him to venture outside and flap his wings, but Percy has other ideas. What the puffling doesn’t realise, however, is that his entire flock are about to migrate south for the winter. If he doesn’t learn to fly, he will be left behind and his life will be in mortal danger!
Along comes a fearless field-mouse called Shrimp, whose brimming self-confidence makes Percy feel braver. Together, the unlikely pals take off on a perilous adventure that requires every ounce of courage they’ve got. How will he find his way back home? Will Percy ever see his Map & Pap again?
An uplifting children’s show about friendship, overcoming self-doubt and trusting your own instincts. With original music and songs by Harriette Ashcroft (Mrs H and the Singalong Band), magical puppetry and a heartwarming story, Puffling Percy is bound to shake you by your tail-feathers and lift you up, up & away!
About the Company
Puffling Productions brings together a musician and a writer with a passion for children’s theatre. Harriette Ashcroft runs Mrs H and the Singalong Band, a collective of professional musicians that brings quality music to children and their families. The band performs in various venues across London, at festivals and beyond, with a strong emphasis on audience participation, theatrical engagement and communal singing
Tessa Nicholson is a writer/performer with a background in devised theatre and screenwriting. She trained with Thomas Prattki at LISPA (the London Lecoq school). She has an MA in Screenwriting from the London Film School and read English at Cambridge. Her passion for puffins developed while living in Cornwall, a stone’s throw from the Mousehole Wild Bird Hospital.
Age guidance
Puffling Percy is aimed at ages 3 – 8. Our shows for this age group have storylines that can be followed and enjoyed by 3-4-year olds, but may also use slightly more complex ideas, humour, dialogue or song lyrics that older children will get more out of. There is nothing really scary in these shows but they can be a bit more dramatic than those for the youngest children, including in their use of sound and lighting, and characters may face some perils.
This show has standard seating for our Studios. There are rows with chairs and soft blocks facing the stage, and there may be some mats on the floor at the front. There will be up to 60 people watching the show.
We welcome vocal responses, and there are parts in the show where the audience are invited to join in with a song and actions, and with making sound effects. There are also points where a puppet flies over the audience. The audience stay in their seats while watching the show, but you can leave and re-enter the auditorium at any time.
Percy feels lost at first when he is left behind by the flock, but soon cheers up when he befriends Shrimp. During their adventures they crash into a lighthouse, battle with a cat and get tossed about on the sea, but all ends happily.
All ages are welcome at our shows and age ranges can only be a rough guide, but please bear in mind that Puffling Percy was not specially designed for under-threes. A show aimed at two-year olds would have some differences – those shows are carefully made to hold their attention for the duration, and not to be unsettling for them.
You may also be interested in…
Puppet Playcation - The Pet Collection: Cuddly Cats
For ages 5-9
Puppet Playcation - The Pet Collection: Delightful Dogs
For ages 5-9
🙏 Donate now
If you are able to support us, any donation, large or small, will make a huge difference.
All amounts are welcome. Thank you!