ANIMALS are always a pretty good way for tugging at those heart strings.

Make that animal a lion with a kind heart, rescued by a boy with an even kinder one, throw in the horror of the First World War and a love story as well, and you have the recipe for a hit show.

The Mercury Theatre’s Daniel Buckroyd has brought writer Michael Morpurgo’s the Butterfly Lion stunningly to life.

Taking the audience from the South African Veld to a Wiltshire boarding school via a lonely house and the trenches of northern France is not an easy task.

But with the use of moveable sets, props and cleverly constructed puppets it’s beautifully done and all the more captivating because of it.

As soon as the lion of the title appears on stage, you fall in love with the little bundle of fur, and the butterflies are hard to resist as well as they flit and float through the air.

Perhaps the most ingenious element of this adaptation though, is the way the simple story of Bertie and his beautiful white lion is told.

The utterly brilliant Gwen Taylor plays an old woman who one day invites a young Michael Morpurgo into her house from the rain.

As she begins telling him the story, Michael (a superb professional debut by Adam Buchanan) becomes the boy.

Later the old woman continues her story, first as the young girl who befriends Bertie and then the nurse who eventually marries him.

The rest of the ensemble cast also slip effortlessly in and out of their various roles, creating a wealth of colourful characters to enjoy.

If there is only one show you see this autumn, make it this one. It really is a gorgeous production which both young and old will delight in.

NEIL D’ARCY-JONES

The Butterfly Lion, is on at the Mercury Theatre, Balkerne Gate, Colchester, until September 14. Various times and prices. Call 01206 573948.