Fringe Review: Twinkle Twinkle

Twinkle Twinkle – Touched Theatre. The Warren: The Blockhouse, 4, 5 May * * * *

The most captivating moment of Twinkle Twinkle is when Marty, the charmingly puppeted dog at the centre of this tale for 1-3 year olds, emerges slowly from a basket to the utterly transfixed delight of the young audience, accompanied by the sound of a dozen of them murmuring “Woof woof!” The show, a new production by puppet company Touched Theatre, is a sweet and simple tale of Marty’s bath and bedtime, and his high-jinx once the lights are out. It’s a difficult age range to cater for, especially in a small dark space with very little wriggle room like the Warren’s Blockhouse, but the jaunty music – an original score by Foz Foster – and clever use of lights kept most of the children entertained admirably. There was a lull in the middle, when only Marty and his puppeteer are on stage and the subtleties of the story line may have been a little lost – at least on my wriggly toddler – but they pulled it back with a well timed light show of stars and a joint rendition of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star with audience participation, which went down splendidly, and rounded off the show at just the right duration.
A charming, heartwarming and engaging introduction to theatre-going for little ones.
https://www.brightonfringe.org/whats-on/twinkle-twinkle-124463/