The Further Adventures of

the Owl and the Pussy-cat

This is a visual story for audiences with autism, Asperger’s, Sensory

Processing Disorder, learning disabilities and other associated

conditions. It contains information and pictures to prepare you for

your visit to the theatre.

If you have any questions about your theatre visit, please contact the theatre.

Visual Story

The Show

The show lasts for approx. 45 minutes and does not have an interval.

There are 2 puppeteers in the show. The puppeteers also narrate and sing.

The show is a mixture of live dialogue, recorded music and live songs.

This show is based on the book written by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by

Charlotte Voake. The book is a sequel to Edward Lear’s classic poem. The full

poem and more information can be found in the Education Pack that ac-

companies this show, as well as online.

The Owl and the Pussy-cat sailed away

In a beautiful blue balloon.

They took some jam, and a honey-roast ham,

Which they ate with their runcible spoon.

The Story:

When their beautiful golden ring is stolen, the Owl and the Pussy-cat must travel far from the safety of the Bong-tree glade as their search for the thief leads them across the sea, to the Chankly Bore and beyond.

Find out what these two beloved characters did next and join them on a journey

through a nonsensical land full of adventure.

Age guidance:

The Further Adventures of the Owl and the Pussy-cat is aimed at ages 3 – 8.

Younger children can enjoy the puppetry and visual imagery, and there is

nonsense poetry and an epic journey across foreign lands for slightly older

children to follow. There is nothing obviously scary in this show, but the unusual

characters have not been designed to appeal to very small children, and they

may have difficulty following the narrative.

Photo Credit: Ellie Kurttz

The Characters

There are two performers in the show. Sometimes they sing and narrate

without puppets.

All of the other characters in the show are puppets. Some of the characters have

more than one puppet to represent them. This is because they might be different

sizes throughout the show.

Owl

Pussy-cat

Performers

Crow

The Pobble who

has no toes

You will also see some other small characters that are

represented by puppets:

Pig Jumblies Cat

The Set

When you come into the theatre you can look above your head and you will see

some lights. You will also see coloured lanterns.

When you enter the theatre this is

how the stage will be set.

The two performers will be on

stage while the audience arrive

and sit down.

The main pieces of set you will see

include a green boat, trees, woven

baskets and lanterns.

Sometimes the stage will be darker like

in this picture. These darker scenes only

last a few minutes.

The Show

In this section special alerts are written in blue ink.

When it’s time for the show to start the lights dim and music plays.

The performers sing a poem in the form

of a song with recorded music, but it is

not very loud.

For a little part of the song, one

performer plays a guitar while they sing.

The Owl and the Pussy-cat need a ring

so they can get married. They meet a

pig who has a ring on the end of his

nose, so they buy it for a shilling and

get married.

The sound of waves is played while they

sail in the boat and the lights get darker

for a short time while the trees are

moved.

The owl flies around the trees as the cat

climbs them. Soft music plays.

The Owl and the Pussy-cat sit on the tree

branch together. They tie their ring with

red string in a bow on the end of the

Pussy-cats tail. They go to sleep.

The crow appears. It dances and looks around.

There is a change in the music here. The crow

makes some loud cawing sounds, but they don’t

last for very long.

The crow unravels the bow from the Pussy-cats

tail and flies off with the ring in its beak.

The lights change to represent daylight.

The Owl and the Pussy-cat wake up and

they see that the ring is gone. They look

around for it.

The set changes and little versions of the

Owl, the Pussy-cat, the trees and hills

appear. They sit and weep in the shade of

the bong tree glade.

The owl sings The Songs of Terrible

Wrongs with recorded music.

After the song, the Owl and the Pussy-cat

decide to travel in search of the thief who

took their ring.

Recorded music plays. It is not very loud.

A hot air balloon is made from the little boat and one

of the coloured lanterns. The Owl and the Pussy-cat

sail away in the blue balloon.

The lights turn dark blue and a sheet of

material is put up to represent the sea.

The crow flies around in the distance as

they continue sailing in the blue balloon.

The lights turn dark red and recorded

wind noises are played. The wind is also

represented by ribbons on a stick that

are twirled around by the performer.

Recorded thunder noises are played.

They are not overly loud but you can

cover your ears if you want.

The lights flash a few times.

The Owl and the Pussy-cat sail above

the Jumblies in their sieve.

The performers sing a song all about

the Jumblies. The song has recorded

music and some recorded backing

singing.

There are some music and light changes.

The sailing blue balloon settles down and white

doves fly around above it.

The Owl and the Pussy-cat search for the ring from

autumn to spring, until they arrive at Chankly Bore.

The crow weeps and cries quite loudly. You can

cover your ears if you want.

The Owl and the Pussy-cat find the crow

crying. The crow tells the truth and

explains that he took the ring and sold it

to the Pobble who has no toes.

The Owl and the Pussycat let the crow

know that it is ok and say goodbye.

There is a song here all about the

Pobble who has no toes. The song has

recorded music and live singing.

The lights turn blue and recorded

music plays. A sheet of material is put

back up to represent the sea.

The little Owl and Pussy-cat sail off in

the blue balloon again in search of the

Pobble. They pass the doves again

and wave hello.

Throughout the journey, the set

changes quietly.

The Owl and Pussy-cat meet the

Pobble and the black cat. The Pobble is

wearing the ring on his little finger. They

wonder how they will ever get the ring

back now!

The Owl and the Pussy-cat fly in their

blue balloon to see the doves.

Recorded music plays.

They sit in a tree and call out to the

doves who land on the branches around

them. The doves perform a beautiful

weaving dance.

Recorded music plays as ribbons are

twirled around.

The doves finish the weaving dance.

They have knitted a pair of red gloves!

The Owl and the Pussy-cat thank the

doves and take the red gloves. They fly

off in their blue balloon again/

The lights go down and the theatre goes

quite dark. This doesn’t last very long.

The lights come back up.

The Owl and the Pussy-cat give the Pobble

the red gloves. He puts them on one at a time.

The Pobble claps, but not very loud.

He hops and dances with joy!

The Pobble willingly swaps the ring for the

gloves. The Owl and the Pussy-cat finally

have their ring back!

Recorded music plays as the little Owl

and Pussy-cat sail back in their blue

balloon.

The Owl and the Pussy-cat sit in their

boat. The crow comes over and they let

him in before they sail away together.

The lights dim down.

The lights come back up.

The Owl and the Pussy-cat unpack the

balloon and prepare for a party.

One at a time, the Jumblies, turkey, pig,

doves, Pobble and the crow join the

Owl and the Pussy-cat at their table.

The performers sing a poem.

The Owl and the Pussy-cat dine with

the Jumblies, turkey, pig, doves, Pobble

and crow and they are all delightfully

happy!

The lights go down. This is the end

of the show.

The lights come back up and the show is now finished.

The audience will clap as the puppets and puppeteers take a bow.

You can clap too if you want to.

When the bows are finished they will leave the stage.

We hope you enjoyed the show!