Mr. Popper's Penguins!

Following a BML showcase, producer Kenny Wax commissioned Richy and Luke to write songs for his new show. Adapted from the children's classic by Florence and Richard Attwater.

​

It follows the story of Mr. Popper, a painter and decorator by trade, who dreams of escaping his suburban existence in Stillwater and becoming a renowned world explorer. Above all he longs to see the frozen wilderness of Antarctica.

His dream turns up on his doorstep - literally - when he is sent

a packing crate from the South Pole containing a real-life walking-squawking penguin.  Soon the single bird becomes an entire rookery of penguins and The Poppers' humble home on Proudfoot Avenue is transformed into a penguins' playground.

With a dozen black and white heads to feed, Mr. and Mrs. Popper hatch a plan to train their penguins and tour them on the vaudeville circuit.

​

Mr. Popper's Penguins is an hour-long family musical packed

with colour, puppetry, humour and heart.

Following a successful Christmas tour and run at The Lowry Manchester in 2015, the show was picked to play The New Victory Theatre on 42nd Street, NYC before a spell in the

West End and a US tour.

​

★★★★★ "Magical" The Reviews Hub

★★★★ "Composers Luke Bateman and Richy Hughes succeed in turning the story into a musical, with a string of witty 1950s-influenced songs adding extra theatrical magic to an increasingly zany narrative that celebrates the triumph of imagination over conformity." The Stage

★★★★ "Composer Luke Bateman and lyricist Richy Hughes give each number a sunny Sherman Brothers-esque bounce, but, like the Shermans, they are also adept at plucking the heartstrings, as in the touching ‘I’m Still Here’."               Musical Theatre Review