Theatre of the Widdershins - The King's Got Donkey Ears Scottish Storytelling Centre 17 August

The hoardings outside the venue had rave reviews for this show, dating from 2006 and although an enjoyable piece of kid's theatre, it felt a tiny bit tired...another day, another show. A single performer operates a number of nicely made puppets in telling the story of King Orik, given the unenviable task of deciding which God, Pan or Apollo, is most musically proficient. Rightly expecting retribution from the god he doesn't select, Orik finds himself punished by having his ears transformed into - you guessed. It's quite a wordy piece, a lot of information comes across about the story, the gods and the myths but the young audience members were well engaged and seemed to enjoy it, obligatory cute dog and all. The programme has nice touches, with full biogs for the puppet cast. Would be fine for rural venues.