Review: The Comet, a charming family play with a characterful cat companion

A magical family show full of colour, puppetry and creative set-pieces has come to Norden Farm and will be showing from Boxing Day into the New Year.

The Comet tells a story of challenging life changes for a small tight-knit family made up of a father, his young daughter and their beloved cat Fig.

The trio move from the leafy suburbs to the big city for Dad’s work – much to his daughter Nyla’s chagrin, a budding artist who prefers the wonder of nature and a multitude of stars in the sky.

Then a comet – reminding Nyla of better times at her old home, when her dad made more time to play – comes soaring through the city streets, glowing invitingly.

Nyla can’t resist following it, taking her on an epic adventure jumping across the rooftops with her faithful Fig.

The Comet is based on a book of the same name by award-winning author and illustrator Joe Todd Stanton (Waterstones Children's Book Prize, 2018).

In play form, it sees creative use of projections to make vibrant colour and light displays alongside traditional stage props, keeping the joys of traditional theatre while using modern media for an all-around immersive experience.

There is also original music and songs to accompany these dynamic visuals, making for a full sensory feast. The Comet is recommended for ages three and up.

The small cast is made up of three accomplished actors and puppeteers, with Maya Manuel playing Nyla and Louis Jay Jordan as Dad.

But the scene-stealer of the show has got to be Fig (played by Linn Johansson) – a delightful feline puppet with a feisty personality.

Fig’s quirky and mischievous antics – all too familiar to cat-owners – are bound to fetch belly-laughs from children of all ages, and the adults too.

Very small children will especially benefit from Fig’s non-verbal yet extremely expressive additions to the action and dialogue.

The show is a tight 55 minutes long, making it easy on the attention spans of younger children – and in these winter months, allowing families to get home while the sun’s still up.

Performances of The Comet at Norden Farm have paused temporarily until Boxing Day, and will continue from then until Saturday, January 3.

Each day The Comet is running, there are showings at either 11am, 2pm or both, except for Boxing Day, when it’s 4pm.

Tickets start from £14 (four for £56). Book at: norden.farm/events/the-comet

The Comet is also showing at Curve Venue in Slough, from December 16 to December 23: curvevenue.uk/events/the-comet