One Snowy Night: A charming tale to warm you up on the coldest of days

This wintry tale of Percy the Park Keeper and his ‘One Snowy Night’ envelops your like a cup of hot chocolate by a warm, open fire on a snowy evening.

It really is one of the most charming, and Christmassy, things I've seen at Norden Farm in recent years and follows on from other gems such as The Bear by Raymond Briggs and Kipper's Snowy Day by Mick Inkpen.

Based on the popular series of books by Nick Butterworth, One Snowy Night might just be the best of the lot, something my son Alex would heartily agree with.

And with the cold snap locking much of the country in its icy grip, this might just be the perfect time to pop along to Norden Farm and see this inventive and creative production from Slot Machine.

The cast skilfully intertwine puppetry and song, with humour that appeals to all ages, but especially children, who I guarantee will laugh out loud as Percy - with support from some cheeky little helpers - goes about his daily park keeping tasks before the snow closes in during the evening.

My five-year old son was rocking with laughter as Percy pruned the park's bushes and attempted, unsuccessfully, to pick up dropped litter.

The beauty of the show is that audience participation is encouraged, a little like a panto, with little ones shouting and screaming at Percy to turn around as his mischievous park keeper assistants re-scatter the litter he's just picked up. This is all accompanied by some cheery songs to sing - or dance - along to.

But the real narrative of the story begins when Percy finishes up for the day and turns in for the night, just as the first flakes of a very heavy snow begin to fall.

He lives in the park lodge, and there are further funny moments as he goes through his bedtime ablutions and settles down for the night - not that he's going to get much sleep on this evening!

Percy is about to meet a squirrel, rabbits, fox, badger, ducks, hedgehog and mice as, one by one, each of them knocks on his door in the hope they can come in and escape the cold. The puppetry displayed by the cast is brilliant as they skilfully guide about a dozen animals around the lodge and bring each one to life with a range of accents and mannerisms.

Percy - one of just three cast members - just about manages to squeeze them all in and save them from the cold, but who's that coming up through the floorboards? Might a tiny little mole be the straw that finally breaks the camel's back?

One Snowy Night is on twice a day until Friday 30 December (Tuesday – Saturday). The performance on Wednesday 21 December at 11am will be Signed. On Wednesday 28 December there will be a Relaxed performance at 11am – this is ideal for families with babies or toddlers and children with SEND. Everyone is welcome to join at this friendly format. One Snowy Night is just under one hour long – the perfect length for little theatre goers. Tickets are £15, £13 for under 16s and £52 for a Family & Friends ticket (4 people)

Audience reaction:

"A little gem! ...Very creative and so much fun. Our daughter couldn't stop laughing out loud," five stars, says Netmums.

One Snowy Night is created especially for children aged 3 – 8 years (but – with a few jokes thrown in for the grown-ups – adults will love it too!).

"Magical – an ideal introduction to the theatre for children," said The Stage in its five-star review.