Attenborough and His Animals – Gilded Balloon at the Museum

Jonathan Tilley and Jess Clough-Mcrae are a pair of talented physical mime artists and very entertaining. They both trained in Paris at the Jacques Lecoq clowning school and their skill shines through.

When David Attenborough doesn’t turn up as expected they turn to improvisation to provide a show with a myriad different creatures and a commentary very like Sir Attenborough’s.

It’s an interactive show. Clough-Mcrae is superb at acting out the animals and making eye contact with the audience. She picked out a family in the front row for special treatment and, honestly, those little ones have memories for life from that one hour. Their dad was singled out and they loved it!

I loved the orangutan and the fish and the sloth and the lizard and the crab … okay, I thought it was all captivating. Hats were thrown into the audience; bananas were shared; sunglasses were explored with the permission of the owners. It was funny, silly and amazingly clever.

The musical accompaniment was spot on, including I believe in Miracles by Hot Chocolate. What’s not to love?

Such a pair of clever people can’t go wrong. And a family day out can’t go wrong with the venue being inside the Scottish Museum. It’s a brilliant place so pop right on in and enjoy the exhibitions.

They have separate shows at the Fringe in addition to this one: Strictly Barking (it’s got multiple awards) with Jon and Ollie is another family show featuring Jonathan Tilley, and Manbo, an extremely silly show, is a 2022 Adelaide winner. It is directed by Clough-Mcrae.

Reviewer; Kathleen Mansfield

Reviewed: 8th August 2023

North West End UK Rating: