REVIEW: MR PUNCH AT THE OPERA adapted by Becca Marriott (after Pergolesi), Grimeborn Festival at Arcola Theatre 21-24 August 2024

‘An inventive introduction to operatic music for young children, even though some of  them may not know what's going on.’ ★★★ ½

A few months ago, I met a Muscovite mother who started taking her young children, from the age of 3, to attend full operas. She says they are just so used to it now, aged 7 and 9, because it is all they know. The Grimeborn Festival at the Arcola Theatre brings opera and musical theatre (after Glyndebourne) in the hopes of bringing these works to the masses of East London (Dalston to be specific). Mr. Punch at the Opera introduces children to opera in a unique and engaging manner, using the Punch & Judy staging, which is understandable considering some of the themes of the storyline.

La Serva Padrona is Giovanni Battista Pergolesi’s opera from 1733 and this adaptation for children is both entertaining and perplexing. In this show, Uberto becomes Hubert (Matthew Kellet) and Serpina becomes Serena (Grace Nyandoro), but it is hard to figure out how much else translates for young children. Hubert, who starts as a human puppet, connecting the Punch and Judy string, is pulled out of a box by a master puppeteer (Professor James). The puppeteer goes behind the small booth and takes over the actual puppets, including a hungry crocodile and monkey, both very hungry, and of course, the eponymous Punch, and he truly is a master. Serena, a young maid who wants to marry Hubert, and finds unscrupulous ways to get him to comply, finally pretending to be getting married in order to get him to see that he is in love with her. Kellet and Nyandoro’s voices are gorgeous, just as their acting is humorous and engaging.

The music, performed so spiritedly by Alison Halford (cello) and Panaretos Kyriatzidis (piano), was the main attraction for me. Positioned to the left of the stage, they played their instruments with vigour and at many moments, I felt compelled to move my eyes in their direction. It was mesmerizing.

I did bring an expert with me: my 4-year-old daughter. She doesn’t know opera, but she knows what children enjoy. My fellow reviewer found some parts incomprehensible and others slightly frightening. She pointed to a scene where Serene uses rope to capture Hubert as a particularly scary one. Perhaps it is not for such a young child and the minimum age guidance should be increased to 5+ (from the 3+ advertised). There were a couple of limited attempts to create interaction with the audience: a party blower (supposedly for the adults, though very unlikely to stay in their hands), some paper thrown at the stage from the audience (planted ahead by Serena).

This is, however, an inventive introduction to operatic music for young children, even if many of them may not know what’s going on. The music is lively, and the two performers have beautiful voices, and even if the libretto is not fully understandable, the pieces are not too long. At 40 minutes, the story moves along quickly, and one feels a sense of experiencing a piece of history. I think that for my child, this may be enough opera and we can wait on the full-length ones for now.

Performed by Matthew Kellet, Grace Nyandoro

Puppeteer Professor James

Directed by Becca Marriott

Assistant Director: Edie Bailey

Music performed by Alison Halford, Panaretos Kyriatzidis

Libretto & Book & Director: Becca Marriott

Composer: Giovanni Battista Pergolesi