Mr Popper’s Penguins at The Lowry Review
Mr Popper’s Penguins
The Lowry, Manchester
10 December 2015 to 10 January 2016
Reviewed by Carly Upton
Yesterday my gran and I set off for Salford Quays to my favourite theatre, The Lowry. As neither of us drive we arrived by tram, the theatre is easily accessible by tram, bus or car.
The first thing we noted as we arrived was that we were the only ones there without a child in tow! This didn’t faze us though and after getting ourselves a warming hot chocolate we took our seats on row G in the stalls of the Quays Theatre. The Quays Theatre is the smaller of the theatres at The Lowry, very intimate and a lovely atmosphere. There were lots of families with excited children and Penguins galore!
The show started a little after its scheduled time, with 4 actors taking the parts of all the characters as well as dealing with props and scenery. It was funny and charming from start to finish and had me and my gran, as well as all the children, chuckling away and oohing and ahhing. Mr Popper’s Penguins is a charming story of a small town painter and decorator who has dreams of visiting the South Pole, to follow in the footsteps of the great explorers he has read about in books. He has a special interest in the wildlife of the Pole, namely the Penguins. Much to his surprise and delight a special package arrives one day from the South Pole, containing none other than a penguin!
As Mr Popper and his devoted wife get used to becoming the unlikely parents of this tuxedoed fellow, we fell in love with the gorgeous ‘Captain Cook’. The penguin was a puppet, cleverly manoeuvred on wheels by one of the actors, who managed to animate the bird beautifully.
But low and behold, a story would not be a story without a setback, poor Captain Cook the penguin becomes ill. Mr Popper works together with his wife, and a band of explorers to save their feathered friend.
As the title suggests Mr Popper has more than one penguin, and they are soon joined by a friend for Captain Cook, Greta, from London Zoo.
As the story unfolds the cast of four do a wonderful job of flitting from character to character, with set changes and costume changes. A few little slip ups were styled out perfectly and added a little adult humour to the show. The settings and props were charming and simple but flowed perfectly as the story went along and it never felt like we were waiting for the next scene.
Well, Captain Cook and Greta got on swimmingly and were soon joined by the pitter patter of 8 sets of tiny feet. These tiny penguins are absolutely adorable, my grandma wanted one to take home! The story then moves on to how the Popper’s and their penguin’s take the world by storm with their amazing exploits and tricks on the big stage, making them world famous.
But as we all know, penguins belong in the South Pole and not on the stage, but how will Mr and Mrs Popper cope without them?
With singing, dancing, jokes and fun the show is a lovely Christmassy bonanza, and I would greatly recommend it for all the family. 4 very talented actors who kept everyone entertained from start to finish.
The show finished with a finale of a snow storm, where we were all showered with ‘snow’ or white foam to be more precise, this was a very sweet touch and had the children in awe. We were then encouraged to stand up and do a little penguin dance, which was lots of fun.
If you get chance to see this show, take your little ones or any penguin lovers!
Rating: 5/5 
Tickets cost £17 (includes £2 booking fee).
Mr Popper’s Penguins is at The Lowry in Manchester until 10 January 2016. For more information or to book tickets click here or call the box office on 0843 208 6000.
The Lowry, Pier 8, Salford Quays, Manchester, M50 3AZ | 0843 208 6000
