Tea Time in Wonderland

My daughter fell in love with puppets @ the Punch and Judy festival last year. She could have stayed the whole day @ Covent Garden, mesmerized.

It seemed a great idea on an icy Sunday to try the Puppet Barge in Little Venice.

From the outside, you would not guess much. Yellow and red stripes on a narrowboat. For any kid, this is already on an adventure, a show on a boat, mummy!

The inside is more spacious than I expected and can welcome up to 50 guests. It is nice and warm, the benches are pretty comfy and the kids wait happily, fascinated by the exotic collection of puppets on the walls, looking at all the details. They rarely get to see such fine ones up close and those really call for legends and dreams…

Around us, parents and grandparents, babies, toddlers,kids up to 10-11 years old. Babies? For a one hour show? Mmmh…

I do remember Punch and Judy kind of show from childhood. The smell of summer and grass, hasty colourful tents, red and white stripes, characters chasing each other, laughs, easy humour, excited kids.

This is more magical. More of a story told in a soothing voice, with a musical background. It definitely used theatrical staging too – splendid landscapes and gorgeous skies! A real atmosphere, refined puppets, an incredible number of threads to be mastered. Imagine the mobile trunk of the elephant! Many details too -  the jumping ant and dancing frogs… Most often only 2 puppets on the stage at a time so you can concentrate on what’s going on.

The kids are suprisingly quiet. They do whisper questions but in low voices. We barely heard the babies at all. The soft music has relaxed us all, time is suspended, the children are fascinated, eager to know more, the adults are simply charmed.

Don’t worry about the length of the show -  a break is proposed half way through. Almost disappointing but welcome for the kids who need to move a around, have a chat, a bite to eat. A tiny, tiny cafe (2 meter square at most) provides drinks and a few cakes.

An experience that sprinkles a little magic on your day and takes you years back. You’d almost come here on you own…

The puppet barge
Little Venice W9 2PF

£10/adult, £8.50/child

3 Responses to “A little magic @ the Puppet Barge ”