I realise I am not necessarily the target audience for Norden Farm’s production of The Comet, so I asked my four and a half (the half is important) year old what she thought of it, and she said “amazing”. I asked what her favourite part of it was, and she said “everything”. So that is high praise indeed. And I do agree, it is an adorable production and the perfect festive treat for families.
Let’s delve deeper into this infantile feedback from my story-mad daughter, who spent the entire production on the edge of her seat, eyes wide, enchanted by what she was watching. The Comet is adapted for the stage from the book by award-winning author and illustrator Joe Todd Stanton.
It tells the story of Nyla (Maya Manvel) and her Dad (Louis Jay Jordan), who move to a city from the countryside with their cat, Fig, in order for Dad to start a new job. Not knowing anyone, and feeling far away from the peace, open spaces and friends of their old home, Nyla feels lonely and wants to leave. Meanwhile Dad is trying to handle the plight of working parents everywhere, the dreaded juggle of trying to be present for his daughter while also trying to impress his new employer. When a comet soars over the city one night, Nyla can’t resist following it across the rooftops, and has her eyes opened to how she might finally be able to start feeling at home.
The story is absolutely charming and the production is a delight. Director Fiona Creese has been given a gift of production design, thanks to Amelia Pimlott and Matt Biss, whose use of projections, puppets, lighting and set are nothing short of magical.
Manvel and Jordan give very enjoyable performances as the daughter and father, but Fig the cat absolutely steals the show, superbly cat-handled by puppeteer Linn Johanson. The sequence with Nyla and Fig jumping across rooftops to chase the comet inspired my daughter so much that when she came home, she spent the afternoon drawing it. As a parent constantly looking for ways to entertain my children, this was precious.
Beautiful original music and the script has been provided by Des’ree (yes, the very same whose song Kissing You from Baz Luhrmann’s 1996 Romeo + Juliet defined the school disco slow dance of my generation) which adds to how special the show feels.
The second half of The Comet’s production run starts on Friday 26 December and finishes on Saturday 3 January, so if you’re looking for the perfect way to fill that weird gap between Christmas and New Year, I recommend a visit to Norden Farm.
Tickets cost £16 or £14 for under 16s, and are available at norden.farm/events/the-comet
