They made the hottest adult shows of the noughties: now cult immersive theatremakers Punchdrunk have produced the coolest kids' show in town. Three-to-six-year-olds will be entranced by this sweet, tactile piece of Christmas theatre, in which they explore the fairytale cottage of Mr and Mrs Winter and a wintry pine-scented grotto beyond.
Punchdrunk's spectacular huge-scale noughties warehouse shows always had a scratch-and-sniff element, which is perfect for tinies. They'll love rolling gingerbread biscuit dough indoors then pushing through fresh branches and across flurries of fake snow in a magical scene that brings the outdoors indoors, and is as close as you'll ever get to the old-fashioned magic of Narnia in the futuristic shadows of the Olympic Park.
The adventurous surprises are nicely tempered by reassuringly gentle, melodious performances from Matthew Blake and especially Fran Moulds as the Winters, on a quest to find their lost larder key.
Since they rewrote the theatre rulebook for grownups, Punchdrunk have grown up, diversified and developed a conscience in the form of their community-minded Enrichment programme. This show, embedded in Stratford's lively home of local storytelling, the Discover Children's Centre, is enchanting. And it's for everyone; not just the mini-hipsters.