BLOWING raspberries, pulling funny faces, singing along and allowing your child to express what they think of the show is the main aim of Penguin. It’s a charmingly simple tale of friendship and unspoken loyalty that will appeal to the under tens. The music is written by Tom Gray, member of Mercury prize-winning band Gomez, that will grab the adults’ attention and send their feet tapping too.

“It’s all about joining in and letting the kids shout, scream to try to get the penguin to talk,” says Katherine Morton, director of Long Nose, the Brighton-based puppet company, who is bringing the story of Penguin to life at Jacksons Lane, Highgate.

Katherine adds: “My one-and-a-half year-old, Holly, loves it... in fact, it’s really helped her development progress. When we were adapting the story, we tried out various scenarios with her, and now she really thinks the puppets are her friends.”

The Penguin centres on Ben, who is delighted when he rips open his present, and inside is a penguin. “Hello Penguin,” says Ben. Penguin says nothing, so Ben fires Penguin into outer space, Penguin comes back to earth without a word! It isn’t until a passing lion intervenes that Penguin finally speaks, and when he does, Ben discovers something that was really worth the wait.

This surreal, and heart-warming story was written by Polly Dunbar. She studied illustration at Brighton University and so too did Katherine. The pair have been best friends since and together they have beautifully crafted this production.

“It was really great fun getting together and brainstorming the ideas on how to adapt her book into a show. Making the puppets, we kept it simple so that our young audience are attracted to the characters.

“Ben is made out of latex and is a hand and rod puppet. Penguin is just a stuffed toy with a blinking mechanism, and the other characters are made just as simple. For the twists of fates and moments of palpable danger we gently show the action through projection effects – the kids love it.”

Penguin is at Jacksons Lane, Highgate from Monday, February 15 until Thursday, February 18, noon and 2pm. Telephone 020 8341 4421