The storytelling plays at the Peacock (morning and midday performances) are for children aged 8 to 12 years, which is about the right pitch. Younger patrons could easily find the techniques involved, of actors switching through multiple roles in a pass-the-narrative progression, rather confusing, and the production is too, well, teeny for teenagers.
Five actors - Mark D'Augh ton, Tony Flynn, Deirdre Roycroft, Eileen McCloskey and Siobhan Miley - narrate the two fairytales with the necessary skills and projection. Two warring brothers, one with a huge nose, duel with each other and finally marry royalty; a happy ending. Twelve sister princesses baffle everyone with nightly disappearances, until a soldier arrives to solve the puzzle and earn the king's gratitude.
Katherine Sankey's set is a low platform with a couple of trapdoors, with the audience seated on three sides, and her costumes are modern casuals. This leaves it up to the cast to inject physical and emotional colour, which they do very well. Kathy McArdle directs their romps with precision.