There’s a real sense of intrigue about the start to this puppet show, with butterflies shimmering across the set and rabbits ears popping up from behind it. But any tweeness soon disappears as Pan and Apollo, wielding pipe and lute in a battle of the bands over Fairy Syrinx, tie up good King Orik to perform the invidious task of judging them.

The puppets are superbly wrought, with just enough movement to serve on stage and aide their character but it is the detail of their crafting which sets them apart. Andy Lawrence, in white goatee and pointy-ended moustache, wanders the set as the storyteller, allowing his visible manipulation of his characters and the magical changes of the set to appear quite naturally as an extension of the story.

The story itself is paced just right. Scene changes allow enough time to take in what is gong to come while reflecting, vocally if necessarily, on what has passed. It is all very inventive as well. King Orik’s barber, Luigi, weighed down by the King’s dreadful secret, has his brain emptied by a doctor. Secrets travel into the ground and a magical flute finally reveals the truth. Superb stuff, all round.