It appears the Pleasance has fallen in love with large stripy orange and black cats this year, hosting three Tiger themed children’s shows for us all to enjoy. Differing in their portrayal of these elegant cats, all three shows are worth a peek :

You Look Tasty ! (A Play by A. Tiger ) – An escaped Tiger has a penchant for amateur dramatics, bringing a show to the Fringe itself. In this captivating performance, one of his zookeepers tells us how it all came about. Harriet Kemsely is absolutely fantastic as the traumatised and nervous zookeeper, she is a talented storyteller, able to keep the whole audience in rapt attention. The odd appearance of a tiger’s tail and the occasional roar keeps the suspense going, with only a few children seemingly brave enough to actually go on stage. As we unravel the events, and meet a second zookeeper, we are also introduced to the wider concepts of animals reared in captivity and the relationships and bonds they form with their human caregivers. Funny, scary, thought-provoking and silly….go check it out if you can !

The Tiger Who Came To Tea – I am sure every parent and child is familiar with this story from the much loved book by Judith Kerr, about a hungry Tiger who joins a little girl called Sophie and her Mummy for tea. This is a fantastic adaptation of the book, and keeps it’s original and simple charm. Whilst being a rather short story – this production adds in some songs and dances to make it all last a little longer. The set is gorgeous and looks exactly like the original illustrations and it is used in some clever tricks to surprise the audience. The greatest surprise of all was the Tiger himself who drew a great response of excitement from the audience and had us all up singing and dancing with him too ! A delightful show to enjoy with little ones….

Mr Tiger Goes Wild – The only show in the tiger trilogy that I have not managed to see yet but I have read good things about it – especially the music ! “Mr Tiger was perfectly fine in the city – until he had a wonderfully wild idea! A show for ages 3+ that’s a bit rock’n’roll, adapted from the book by Peter Brown. Join Mr Tiger on an adventure into the wilderness featuring original live music, hilarious characters and lots of imagination that will have children roaring with laughter.”

So there you have it – for Tiger fans everywhere large and small – three delightful shows to choose from – each offering something a little bit special……(I wonder if this will become an annual event and next year we’ll see another animal being featured)…