One Snowy Night

A WINTER treat for young children is now on at the Albany Theatre.

One Snowy Night is a heart-warming story, based on the bestselling Percy the Park Keeper books by Nick Butterworth.

It has been adapted by renowned theatre company Slot Machine and is full of songs to sing along to, furry puppet friends to meet and blankets to be tucked up in.

For those not in the know, Percy the park keeper always feeds the animals in the park where he lives.

But one cold winter’s night, Percy finds his little friends shivering on the doorstep looking for somewhere warm to sleep.

Squirrel, Fox, Badger, Hedgehog and friends warm their collective paws (and claws) in Percy’s home until they too are disturbed by a little something burrowing into the hut from below!

The show is brought to life by a cast of three including puppeteer and Balham resident Amy Tweed.

"It's a lovely story and is a joy to be working on," says Amy. "It's about Percy who looks after a park and one night there is a really heavy snowfall and one by one all the animals come to his front door looking for shelter.

"It's quite simple but it's also very funny. There are great songs and all the animals have their own characters so it's a really fun show to do - my favourite is the fox but I also really like the four tiny mice.

"Between myself and the other puppeteer we operate 48 different animals so it's going to be quite something and we have got our work cut out!"

Amy and the rest of the cast and crew are currently in rehearsals for the show which starts at the Douglas Way theatre on Tuesday (dec 10).

"I am an actor really but I have done a few productions involving puppetry and it's the third time I've done this show so I know it well.

"What's really good about this one is that most shows at this time of year really focus in on Christmas but this is just a nice winter story. Kids are so fond of the books that it's fantastic to be part of something that brings the characters they love to life in such a visual way.

"And it's great especially for those for whom it's the first time in a theatre. It's very special and amazing to see their faces as they watch it."

One Snowy Night is on at the Albany from Tuesday, December 10 until Saturday, Decembver 29

Tickets cost £9.50. Call the box office on 020 8692 4446 or visit www.slotmachinetheatre.com or www.thealbany.org.uk for dates and times.