This two person show performed by the two lovely girls complimenting each other, like a modern day Snow White and Rose Red, with their dark and fair hair and smiley positivity, is a relaxed and casual affair. With only the props of piles of giant cardboard cut outs and some puppet socks, a white net curtain and a flipchart, the show is instantly interactive.
By the very nature of its involving the very young audience members (theoretically aged 3-7) , the show morphs to each new set of enthusiasts meaning that the performers need to think on their feet to adapt their simple props to create the journeys to imaginary worlds. Kim Bergsagal and Rachel Macintyre do this with enthusiasm but seemed to rush suggestions made by the wee hands that shot up in the air so maybe there was a set agenda after all!
When Rachel finds she only has one sock, the story takes the children through a sock shaped door in a washing machine to find, you’ve guessed it, lost socks. After traversing the fantasies to what turned out to be in the show I attended - dinosaur land, the beach (where the singular count down of crab and donkey was entertaining) and the seasonally apt North Pole - the two puppeteers eventually meet the eponymous Lost Sock Princess. And about time too! My 5 year old companion asked more than once till that moment, “Where’s the Princess?”
There was plenty of singing and joining in throughout and a positive message that even if you never find that matching sock, it’s ok to be different and in the end that that there’s no place like home. All good. However, the show lacked real magic, felt just a bit too unstructured and with and a tad too many gaps to allow a bit of boredom to creep in. There is a bit of fun 30 minutes before the show when any odd socks brought along can be transformed to a puppet that can be brought to life during the show.
Show times
Wednesday 14 - Friday 23 December (10.30am) Not Sunday or Monday
Wednesday 14, Saturday 17, Tuesday 20 - Friday 23 December (1pm)