TWO actors helped bring a nursery rhyme to life at Malvern Cinema last Saturday.

Hilda Gardner and Kai Simmons are from Tall Stories Theatre Company, children's entertainers who have rewritten The Owl and the Pussycat through action and music.

More plays for children are being staged at Malvern Theatres and the cosy cinema space seemed a perfect choice. While set and props were sparse, the rhyme was imaginatively broadened out.

I took young friends Harry (eight) and Alice Fraser (nearly five) along to the show to see what they thought.

Harry said: "This play was funny because the characters were silly. They were based on animals that were an owl, a pussycat, a turkey and a pig. I liked the owl best because he is one of the best characters I have ever seen acted out close-up."

Alice said: "I liked the cat best because she was cute and nice. I liked it when the pair were in a boat playing games. They were very silly because they were in the same boat but kept shouting for each other and changing places. I liked it when they got married at the end."

Ally Hardy