A Tiger's Tale opens with a trio of actors starting to get a little bored with the traditional fare of princes, princesses, dragons and even happy endings. Instead they decide to set themselves the challenge of creating a production about ordinary people doing ordinary things. And so it begins - not “In a galaxy, far, far away,” nor even “Once upon a time,” but “At home, not too long ago” - with the family of a window cleaner who is also starting to get a little bored with his work.
Despite not being very good at the actual cleaning of windows, he is, however, excellent at balancing on ladders. He decides to develop this, the only aspect of his work he actually enjoys, and before long the whole family are fast becoming genuine virtuosos in all manner of balancing tricks. It is not long before they are invited to join the circus.
Their newfound work ultimately takes them to Africa, where daughter Titch is troubled to find a tiger cub whose destiny appears to be imminent death due to the confines of caged circus life. After much debate (and perhaps a little emotional blackmail), Mum and Dad finally agree to take her in - and eventually to even bring her home. Not so ordinary perhaps, but just about within the bounds of the feasible. Clearly, this pet raises some eyebrows amongst the neighbours - not to mention everyone’s favourite bad guys, the local government inspectors.
Along the way there are, of course, plenty of impressive theatrics involving hula hoops, juggling hats, acrobatics, bendy legs - and plenty of ladder antics. The growth of the young cub also means we get some great tiger puppets in a variety of sizes - the largest with a unlikely metal pipe body that actually works perfectly. And who knew a coal scuttle could be so versatile (from ship’s funnel to horse’s head)?
Throughout the tale, we are taken back and forth between the tale itself, and the tale of the theatre troupe writing the play, trying to keep to their challenge whilst also meeting the demands of storytelling, and dealing with difficult plot choices. This simultaneous telling of two stories keeps things pacey and interesting, and gives the young audience a nice insight into the art of writing stories. It also provides an opportunity to gently present sadness and disappointments as important and necessary parts of life, and essential to any story (as one of their songs puts it, “the bad stuff is the good stuff - it's the grit that makes the pearl.”)
A Tiger's Tale is a delightful production, which certainly rises to the challenge of creating an ordinary story about ordinary people that nevertheless keeps us enthralled throughout. And its adherence to the final rule of storytelling - to end with a surprise - really does take us aback!