Two merry men bounce around the auditorium – tripping over handbags and seats as they go – pretending to be members of the audience, until the lights dim and one little voice pipes up. 'Mommy, they're doing it! They're the ones doing it!' Andrew Popton and Felix Hayes are naturals in sparking the interest of their bright-eyed audience. Children and adults alike thrive off this initial engagement and are clearly left hungering for more. They are not disappointed. All four of these tail-inspired tales gain their life-blood from the input of their vivacious audiences. From the story of the greedy lion who, after devouring most of the tailed population of his nearby territory is tricked by a death-defying rabbit into diving into his own reflection (soundscapes and character intentions stemming from audience suggestions), Papton and Hayes energetically gurn, grimace, grin and squirm their way through the piece to an end story that is created entirely from the audience and its suggestions.
Live theatre has rarely been so live or so lively. Though the characters that Papton and Hayes inhabit are wonderfully presented – it is the performers themselves that spread such glee and remind us what storytelling in theatre is all about.