★★★★★

“witty, visually inventive, and profoundly charming”

There is a specific kind of alchemy that happens at the Little Angel Theatre, and this production of the I Want My Hat Back Trilogy is perhaps its purest form. Directed by Ian Nicholson with design by Sam Wilde, this adaptation of Jon Klassen’s beloved picture books is a triumphant celebration of imagination, sustainability, and the sheer joy of storytelling.

From the moment the audience enters, the fourth wall is not just broken; it is warmly dismantled by a spread of autumn leaves that transforms the stage. We are met with a greeting so inviting that it immediately dispels the stiffness often associated with theatre.

The genius of this production lies in its visual language. Sam Wilde’s design creates a universe entirely out of recycled cardboard, invoking a style of Object Theatre where the material itself carries meaning. By retaining the raw texture, the production invites the audience to engage in “active imagining.” The versatility of the material is astonishing: eyes change to convey suspicion, and scale fluctuates for comedic effect. When the Bear appears, his deadpan expression—achieved through simple manipulation—is a lesson in visual literacy, proving that a simple box can become a living, breathing character.

The production is anchored by its two performers, Michael Larcombe and Paige Leavy. To borrow a sentiment often expressed in ensemble theatre, these two alone hold up a rich stage, and their performance is exquisite. Larcombe and Leavy are not just puppeteers; they are vocal chameleons. Their transition between voices—from the grumbling, confused Bear to the fast-talking, humorous mumbling of the giant fish—is seamless. They navigate the space with a physical precision that keeps the energy high without ever feeling chaotic. Their ability to switch between narration and character embodiment creates a layered storytelling experience that grips both children and adults.

The show masterfully blends participation with spectacle. We are invited to “make a fish at home,” but even those who arrive empty-handed are swept up in a delightful “fish hand dance,” turning the audience into an extension of the set. And the pacing is impeccable. The comedic tension of the Bear looking for his hat balances beautifully with the quieter, more philosophical moments. The segment involving the two tortoises finding a hat features a sunset sequence that is genuinely moving—a testament to how theatrical lighting and sound can imbue simple objects with profound emotional weight.

The production concludes with a heartwarming introduction where the creative team and cast are named on paperboard—a meta-theatrical nod that humanizes the performers and establishes a communal atmosphere.

For children under six, this is more than just a show; it is a foundational course in theatre appreciation. It teaches them to read theatrical signs, to understand character through voice and movement, and to believe in the magic of a handmade world.

I Want My Hat Back Trilogy is witty, visually inventive, and profoundly charming. It reminds us that you don’t need a million-pound budget to create magic—just some cardboard, two gifted actors, and a hat. It is a masterclass in cardboard magic: the perfect introduction to theatre for kids.

A SQUASH AND A SQUEEZE

Little Angel Studios

★★★

“The set and puppets stay true to Axel Scheffler’s always beautiful illustrations”

A Squash and a Squeeze is the first book that the rhyming author Julia Donaldson and illustrator Axel Scheffler created together, and here at the Little Angel Studios is a staged musical adaptation of the classic tale.

I asked the little girl next to me if she knew A Squash and a Squeeze and she told me it was all about friends squeezing into a little house together. The story has now been adapted for the stage by Barb Jungr and Samantha Lane, with music and lyrics by Jungr.

The show has stretched out the compact rhyming picture book to an almost too long one hour show for young children.

“Wise old man, won’t you help me, please, My house is a squash and a squeeze”. The wise old man knows, fill it with a flappy, scratchy, noisy crowd of farmyard animals and when you push them all out, you’ll be amazed at how big your house feels!

At the end of each scene, the aforementioned little girl, did ask is that the end? I love young critics.

The set and puppets stay true to Axel Scheffler’s always beautiful illustrations.

A simple and delightful set by Kate Bunce with a Wendy house that opens out into the inside of the old lady’s house, showing how squashed and squeezed they all become as she takes in more and more of her farm animals.

The puppets by Maia Kirkman-Richards are genius for both young and old to enjoy – but almost underused. Taking Scheffler’s wonderful vision a step further on from the original illustrations and bringing them to life on the stage, the puppets are an innovative delight with the hilarious handheld cat created from a fur-ball of a multi-coloured ball of wool, the popping-eyed handheld chicken who does lose feathers, the goat made from a wheelbarrow and the pig built with an apple crate body that gets filled with all the food it guzzles! The pièce de résistance though must be the Friesian cow made from a yoke holding two wooden buckets, one of which has udders hanging from underneath. But why there were only three udders is still a mystery to us all – I did double check that Scheffler hadn’t drawn it thus – no.

Each farmyard animal has its own upbeat song as they are enticed into the little house. And it certainly was a squash and a squeeze with them all inside! Barb Jungr’s music and lyrics are fun young children’s musical theatre, and as a renowned jazz singer and cabaret artist it was great to see her diversity.

The lead puppeteer Mark Esaias does sterling work as the many characters but syncing his goat’s mouth to his singing might need a teeny bit of tightening up. Both the wise man Gilbert Taylor and Ruth Calkin as the old lady, take their turns with the puppets – there are five to handle at once with a full house of farmyard animals!

Calkin finds just the right balance to create a warm, affronted and a despairingly funny old woman, and in her costume, she looked just like the picture book had come to life.

This stage adaptation introduces the wise old man (Taylor) as a silly billy character who makes “easy-peasy solutions”. He is certainly not the expected Scheffler creation with a white beard, hat and long black coat – maybe it was decided that character looked too austerely Germanic.

However, the easy-peasy solution solver arrives squashing and squeezing through the young audience and then proceeds to sing a song using his Walkman cassette player with the cassette tape getting stuck and needing to be rewound with a pen borrowed from the audience. A strange creative decision, and completely unnecessary to the story. Who in the audience, bar me, understood what he was talking about and doing – little girl critic said to her mummy what is that? – And mummy didn’t know either.

I also did not warm to the wise man character hitting a wasp’s nest on the side of the house with a bat and getting badly stung……that’s silly, not wise and not in the book either – even though the children laughed.

I was rather shocked to see missing from the online programme notes, a biography credit for Axel Scheffler because visually (apart from the wise old man), this production is very much thanks to his illustrations. However clever the author Julia Donaldson is (and her biog is there), a picture book needs those wonderous and creative illustrations – and so does this adaptation.

The cast work very hard throughout – and with three shows a day singing and dancing and puppetry and an audience full of excited children they work up a good sweat.

Tag Archives: Suzi Corker

I WANT MY HAT BACK TRILOGY

★★★★★

Little Angel Studios

I WANT MY HAT BACK TRILOGY

Little Angel Studios

★★★★★

“witty, visually inventive, and profoundly charming”

I WANT MY HAT BACK TRILOGY

Little Angel Studios

Reviewed on 8th February 2026

by Portia Yuran Li

Photography by Suzi Corker

I WANT MY HAT

I WANT MY HAT

I WANT MY HAT

A SQUASH AND A SQUEEZE

★★★

Little Angel Studios

A SQUASH AND A SQUEEZE

Little Angel Studios

★★★

“The set and puppets stay true to Axel Scheffler’s always beautiful illustrations”