PENGUINS from Madagascar The Musical have met birds of a different feather on a visit to Sewerby Hall and Gardens in Bridlington before this week's performances at York Theatre Royal.
Stage stars Skipper, Kowalski, Private and Rico came beak-to-beak with a colony of these aquatic flightless birds in the cliff-top zoo on the Yorkshire coast.
Among Sewerby’s Humboldt penguins at the meet-and-greet that day was 28-year-old Rosie, one half of what is believed to be the oldest Humboldt penguin couple to hatch and rear a chick in captivity.
Madagascar The Musical cast members Jessica Niles and Laura Johnson feed the Humbolt penguins at Sewerby Hall and Gardens
Webster and Toby, who were hand-reared by head zookeeper John Pickering, were on hand too to meet Madagascar's cast, both human and puppet.
Laura Johnson, penguin Kowalski’s "handler’ in the stage show, and Jessica Niles, who looks after Private the penguin, ventured on to the penguins' home turf to feed them fish. Among those looking on was The X Factor's 2016 winner, Matt Terry, who plays Alex the lion.
Madagascar cast member Jessica Niles, with her puppet Private the penguin, enconters a brace of curious Humbolt penguins
Featuring all the characters from the DreamWorks animated film, Madagascar The Musical follows the adventures of Alex the lion, Marty the zebra, Melman the giraffe and Gloria the hippo after they break out of New York’s Central Park Zoo.
Tickets for tomorrow to Saturday's 7pm performances and Thursday's 2pm and Saturday's 2.30pm matinees are on sale on 01904 623568 or at yorktheatreroyal.co.uk.
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