REVIEW - The Man Who Wanted to be a Penguin is a quirky, heart-warming celebration of creativity and individuality

Sale’s Waterside is a great venue to introduce your children to the world of theatre. Compact and comfortable with helpful staff and cosy atmosphere is not too intimidating for the little ones, but still feels special and exciting. 

With the higher cost of living, it's nice to see venues on the edge of the city hosting great productions still and more importantly, affordable for everyone to continue watching great theatre. My family and I are based in Sale so we are lucky to be living close to Waterside.

The Man Who Wanted to be a Penguin is a heart-warming and joyous tale brought to Waterside by Stuff and Nonsense Theatre Company. With its playful energy and mix of puppetry, music and song the show was created alongside children and is definitely a celebration of imagination and inventiveness.

The brightest star of the show are definitely the performers – Loretta Hope and Steve Salt. Their great energy, physical nimbleness and ability to play different characters had audience captivated and laughing their heads off on number of occasions. Especially Hope’s ability to speak in wide range of different accents.

Audience participation was also very much appreciated, especially by the younger audience. But who doesn’t want to learn to speak Penguin?

The length of this production is 60 minutes without an interval. For me and my 5 year old, the show was entertaining enough to keep us engaged for the whole duration, but for some of the younger members of the audience it was a bit of a struggle. The show is recommended for 3+.