The old showbiz chestnut about not working with animals and children might still hold good, but there’s no rule against using material that kids inadvertently offer grown-up entertainers.

In Howard Read’s case, his son Sammy provided some lines that are being used verbatim in Little Howard’s Big Show For Kids. ‘My office is above our toilet and I heard him shouting down to my wife: “Mummy, there’s a slug in the toilet and I’m worried that he’ll drown because he hasn’t got any arms or legs!” People slowly work out that you’re talking about a poo. Solid gold. Literally.’

Anyone who has witnessed a show with Little Howard (essentially an animated six-year-old boy based on his creator at that age) will know that technology is core to the project. A seasoned hand by now, Read has plenty of tricks up his sleeve in the unlikely event that a computer malfunction occurs.

‘Generally, if it goes wrong it’s because I’ve stepped on the wrong clicker or I’ve left a controller on the other side of the stage. But I have many fail-safes – I can improvise or play the ukulele.’

Underbelly, Bristo Square, 0844 545 8252, 3–26 Aug (not 12), 2.45pm, £10–£12 (£9–£10). Previews 31 Jul–2 Aug, £6.