Frog Prince by Jactito Puppets Review

Jactito Puppets have managed the incredible feat of putting over 100 puppets into a 45 minute play for children between the ages of 2 and 7 years old.

In this version of the frog prince, our prince has been turned into a frog by a fairy called Honey. A feisty mermaid, Princess Coral, makes our frog prince swim to the very depths of the ocean to persuade her to kiss him, so that he can turn back into a prince!

A complete stage and set has been built for the puppet show. This is not a pier puppet theatre but a very large portable theatre complete with sound system and more!

The company have loving crafted their puppets with the ones on display being either rod or glove puppets. They are so well manipulated that it is easy to believe that they have a life of their own.

Very early on into the story I discovered there was a repetitive formula for the story telling of a dialogued scene followed by a musical scene of no dialog. While repetition is excellent for young children, the musical scenes went on for too long and the children lost concentration.

At over 4 minutes, this long scene did not add anything to the story and found even me wondering when it was going to end.

The audience participation was supposedly a key element of this show, however insufficient time was given for allowing this to happen and required parental prompting.

The actors stayed throughout on script which was a shame as at times a direct impromptu response to the children would have significantly increased the young audiences enjoyment.

That said, all the performances were of a high standard if occasionally being somewhat self indulgent. The script lacked pace and fizz which allowed the show to drag at times.

Overall this was a good show enjoyed by its young audience, however a stronger script, tighter direction and fewer musical scenes would move this show from the good into the exceptional category. Certainly worth seeing, particularly if you have children under 7 to take you along with them.

Performed at Lauderdale House.