Cute, furry and adventure-prone to boot, Stuart Little, the New York mouse who finds himself adopted by a human family, has already fuelled three big CGI-enabled movies.

But this stage production, which uses puppets alongside character actors, is far closer to the original tale by Charlotte's Web author EB White.

Building on the version which ran for three months at Wimbledon's Polka Theatre over Christmas 2003, this touring show from the makers of The Gruffalo follows Stuart as he races down drainpipes and sails a toy boat through Central Park, before setting out in search of his beloved Margalo who has gone missing from her nearby nest.

Stuart's love interest, a canary who loses her voice, is played by Brighton's Rebekah Clifford, an operatically trained performer who you may have seen playing the witch in Tinderbox, Maria in West Side Story, or singing at your table when the Spaghetti Opera come to Al Duomo.

"My character loves singing and thinks she's a bit of an operatic diva," she explains, "which is good because I do like having a little warble. But when she loses her voice Stuart takes her under his wing, as it were.

"It all goes wrong when I overhear a conversation between the cat and the mouse about having a special person over for dinner, and I get the wrong end of the stick."

Margalo's love interest, meanwhile, is actually a 3ft rod puppet, animated by Stewart Cairns.

At points in the show various, smaller versions of the puppet mouse appear, and children should revel in the plethora of tiny props, from a toothbrush to a car - and not forgetting the pea-shooter he uses to protect Margalo when Snowbell is prowling about the lounge.

"I'm also responsible for changing him," says Cairns. "It's like dressing a child because I have to try and get his little arms through the sleeves and he doesn't help at all. Sometimes Wardrobe help but I like to be there to make sure he's got his hanky in his pocket."

2pm today, times vary, £10-£15, 08700 606650