IT IS not every day an audience is asked to shout out their favourite kind of underwear but the lively response at the start of Aliens Love Underpants got the quirky stage production off to a flying start.

Red, frilly and “plain white pants from M&S” were among the answers as the four-strong cast successfully roused the audience, primarily made up of pre-schoolers, and set the upbeat tone for the hour-long show which was perfect timing for young fidgets.

Big Wooden Horse’s theatrical adaptation of the best-selling book by Claire Freeman - adapted and directed by Adam Bampton-Smith, is a simple tale of aliens on a visit to Earth to steal underpants.

It was one of the better stage productions of children’s stories I’ve seen. Any mention of pants guarantees a giggle among children, but aside from the octopus ones and Kylie’s hotpants, the very likeable, bubbly actors-come-puppeteers delivered all the goods for youngsters - speaking clearly and expressively, encouraging plenty of audience participation and performing engaging, original songs.

One of the early scenes, a classroom lesson on the 1960s, was clearly aimed at older ones [the blurb said it was for three to seven-year-olds] but the teacher, Mr Stevens’ (Derek Elwood) song ensured the attention of younger ones didn’t wander far.

The effects worked well, from 1960s film footage to a glow-in-the-dark spacecraft which saw children’s eyes widen in wonder.

The sight of aliens stealing underpants including from the counter at Pants R Us was particularly funny, and could have been further exploited for even more laughs.

With such a good show on our doorstep, it seemed a shame to see empty seats and perhaps a lower ticket price would have helped bring more people in.