First we met staid Mr Deer (Emmanuel Ogunjinmi) in top hat and tails, who bid “Good day Mr Hamster, Mrs. Goat” to young, mostly unresponsive audience members, in a slightly bewildering beginning with no clues as to where the show was going.

He then burst in to singing: “The grass isn’t greener, we couldn’t be keener for things to stay the same”.

Based on the picture book by Peter Brown, the theme began emerging, as rebellious Mr Tiger (Dan McGarry) came for tea and bored of their quintessentially English mundanity and talking about the weather threw his cucumber sandwiches over his shoulder. This horrified his companion but got the first laughs from the children watching.

This innovative Goblin Theatre production injected energy in to the under-tens audience as the characters livened up.

Once Mr Tiger entered the jungle, newly kitted out in leathers, bandana, and electric guitar, they excitedly joined in to rock out with “Welcome to the wilderness, every time I count to four, we’re all gonna roar”.

As the duo sung, danced and drummed, the kids got a bit wilder too, overcoming the slow beginning.

It was a madcap musical tale about being yourself. Free CDs of the original music were also handed out.

Three stars