The Owl and the Pussycat go on tour

Published: 10 March 2017
Reporter: Peter Lathan

The Owl and the Pussycat with director Ruth Johnson and performers Bob Nicholson, Jeremy Bradfield and Hannah Goudie
The Pussycat and the Owl
Hannah Goudie, Jeremy Bradfield and Bob Nicholson

The Owl and the Pussycat live in a dull and dusty world, so imagine how shocked and surprised they are when a stupendous storm sweeps them out of the window on to an unexpected sea voyage to a curious land. Who will they meet? Which way should they go? And, just what is a runcible spoon?

New children’s theatre company Kitchen Zoo is to tour their version of Edward Lear’s The Owl and the Pussycat throughout the North East this Easter.

Kitchen Zoo is made up of Bob Nicholson and Hannah Goudie, who have previously performed together in Elf's Christmas Adventure with Durham Scenic Workshops and are founding members of Camisado Club (You, Me and Everything Else at Northern Stage), which began life as NORTH14 (Send More Paper at Northern Stage, 2014).

The Owl and the Pussycat will be their first show as Kitchen Zoo and it has been developed in partnership with ARC, Stockton-on-Tees and The Witham, Barnard Castle. It will feature live music by Jeremy Bradfield and puppets by Ailsa Dalling.

Talking of the inspiration for the show, Nicholson said, “this is a well-known poem that spans generations and continues to capture our imaginations. We are excited to address the many questions posed by the poem in our performance. How did these two creatures meet? Why did they go to sea? What is a bong tree? And many more...”

“We are thrilled,” added Goudie, “to have the opportunity to explore this brilliantly bizarre adventure by Edward Lear. There is such beauty in his storytelling and the language he uses which we are excited to bring to life through music and song as we work with the wonderfully talented Jeremy Bradfield as musician performer.”

The tour opens at ARC Stockton on 11 March and then goes on to:

  • Saturday 18 March at The Witham, Barnard Castle (11AM, 2PM)
  • Saturday 25 March at The Gala Theatre, Durham (11:30AM, 1:30PM, 4PM)
  • Saturday 1 April at Seaton Delaval Arts Centre (3PM)
  • Sunday 2 April at Saltburn Arts Centre (2PM)
  • Monday 3 April at Bishop Auckland Town Hall (10:30AM)
  • Tuesday 4 April at The Jubilee Hall, West Rainton (10:15AM)
  • Saturday 8 April at The Sage Gateshead (11AM, 2PM, 4PM)
  • Sunday 9 April at Waterhouse Village Hall (11AM)
  • Tuesday 11 April at Queen’s Hall Arts Centre, Hexham (11AM, 2PM)
  • Wednesday 12 April at Arts Centre Washington (11AM, 2PM)
  • Thursday 13 April at Hartlepool Town Hall Theatre (11AM, 2PM)
  • Friday 14 April Greenhills Centre, Wheatley Hill (10:30AM)
  • Sunday 28 May at The Civic, Barnsley (1PM, 3PM)

The production, which is aimed at children between 3 and 7, is directed by Ruth Johnson with dramaturgy by Laura Lindow and design by Alison Ashton.

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