EDWARD Lear’s nonsense tale of a strangely-matched couple, who set off in a beautiful pea green boat to get married, was retold with plenty of charm by Hiccup Theatre, as part of the Salisbury International Arts Festival.

In this enchanting adaptation of the classic poem, we followed Owl and Pussycat as they set out on the high seas with only some honey, money, and a runcible spoon to help them find their way through a topsy-turvy world!

Along the way, they meet a rubber piggy-wig, with a ring at the end of his nose (his nose); a turkey (with a deep south accent) that lived on a hill and the strangest looking tree you’ll ever see – which provided the many string instruments played by composer Ivan Stott as he serenaded the odd couple along their journey.

Simon Kerrigan’s stiff, comic owl was a hoot (sorry), while Claire Harvey was a purr-fectly convincing pussycat. It was brightly coloured entertainment featuring silly songs, babbling puppets, and smaller than life characters – and the children loved it.

Thank you Hiccup for this charming hour-long production, although aimed at three to sevenyear- olds, there was quite a bit of humour thrown in for the adults too.

And at the end of it, I’m still no wiser as to what a runcible spoon is.