Children’s Theatre – Live Art Alive

I WISH

Created by Le Gateau Chocolat, Rachel Bagshaw and Seiriol Davies

Directed by Rachel Bagshaw

HOME MCR

Most of us grow up absorbing Fairy stories throughout our childhoods whether in books, Disney movies or Pantomimes. How many of us have ever wondered what happens after the final dénouement and those fateful words And They All Lived Happy Ever After…? Thankfully Le Gateau Chocolat has gone above and beyond for all us curious adults and wide eyed children and unleashed his inner Fairy Godmother. The suitably fabulous and glittery Effie is about to celebrate her brumble thrillionth wish and seems confident that all her work has been of a high calibre until her bubble suddenly pops.

Colourful and vibrant, the costumes look like Effy has raided the dressing up box via a crash course prepping for Rupaul’s Drag Race and a trolley dash through a sequin factory. The costumes and set design by Ryan Dawson Laight has a frothy, magical quality with a backdrop that allows for plenty of costume changes as Le Gateau Chocolat speedily recreates characters that allude to Cinderella, Peter Pan and Snow White. There is loads of audience interaction allowing children to get up close to the fabulous costumes and really connect with the magic that is happening on stage.

The voice over Narrator is Julian Clary whose calm but quizzical tone is an excellent foil for Effies exuberant confidence. The ensuing exchanges start to deconstruct these famous fables and discover some troubling issues. In this quirky production the audience and Effie consider how it really was for a Peter Pan character to never grow up but just watch from afar as their loved ones live, love and thrive without him. What if the fairy Godmother gave a young girl the opportunity of a lifetime but then left her to make her way up the steps to the castle ball without checking if she needed wheelchair access? Or could making someone incredibly beautiful potentially cause them to become a raging narcissist? Effie scores big when it comes to heart and eyelashes but may need to reconsider her health and safety policy. Thankfully Effie has an (eff)iphany and suggests to her young audience that we are all better together when it comes to making our wishes come true.

The music and lyrics by Seiriol Davies are witty and delightful, covering a range of styles and allowing Le Gateau Chocolat to showcase his rich baritone voice to full effect. This is a charming piece of theatre designed for young children and it’s message of the benefits of cooperation and inclusion is definitely on point. This sweet production has all the heart one would expect from Le Gateau Chocolat and it is great to see this fabulous performer back on stage after a serious illness earlier this year. Having seen DUCKIE at CONTACT and now I WISH, it’s good to be reminded of the importance of making theatre for young children that is relevant and memorable.

I WISH at HOME MCR

JUNGLE BOOK

Children's Theatre, Large Theatres

Based on The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling

Direction, Set and Lighting Design Robert Wilson

Music and Lyrics CocoRosie

Co-produced by Factory International with Théâtre de la Ville

THE HALL, AVIVA STUDIOS

Acclaimed Director and Designer Robert Wilson is collaborating once more with Factory International having previously brought several productions to Manchester International Festival. This time the avant-garde Wilson has joined forces with American composers CocoRosie to give their unique “family friendly” take on the classic The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling. The result is visually sharp and stylised with a suitably vibrant score. The story is somewhat fractured and evolves in a rather staccato manner which may challenge anyone expecting a more traditional retelling. Vivid and crisply architectural in form, the scenes unfold like the pages of a very minimalist pop-up storybook.

Aurore Déon as Hathi The Elephant and Dira Sugandi as Mowgli. Image credit: Lucie Jansch

Wilson’s trademark style of elaborate lighting and projections and shadowplay with a use of deliberately artificial looking landscapes is very striking. The vivid costumes and makeup reminiscent of Japanese Noh theatre add to an otherness in the characters and the landscape they inhabit. Each animal is highly stylised and the performers inhabit their animal personas rather than don obvious animal costumes so they straddle the world’s of man and beast just as the “man-cub” Mowgli did. Roberto Jean as Shere Khan exudes part Tiger part, Studio 54 snake hipped rock star. Aline Belibi as Bagheera is clad in sleek, vampish black velvet and smoulders and purrs like a glorious Eartha Kitt. The whole story is narrated by Hathi The Elephant who is clad in a white colonial style dress which alongside her grey ear headdress looks like an otherworldly Bjork.

The soundscape swathes the theatre in slightly off-kilter animal and jungle sounds that both enchant and disarm. The original music and lyrics by American performance artists CocoRosie are lively and vibrant with impish lyrics punctuated by dreamy ballads. The performers all sound great and a few including Dira Sugandi as Mowgli are particularly memorable. The overall feel has a decidedly French vibe and one scene change is used to employ the trademark coloured spotlights to shine on each of the musicians in the pit with great effect.

This production celebrates otherness and is intended as a plea for tolerance and understanding. The use of The Jungle Book as a base text is fitting as these varied creatures demonstrate “the law of the Jungle” as they struggle and strive to come together and try to move between the different worlds in an ever changing climate. There are issues in this production if you expect a smooth narrative flow but if you can sit back and enjoy the music and appreciate this as a montage of striking tableau scenes then there is much to appreciate. Absolute moments of striking beauty, a quirky sense of artful play that is present throughout and scenes that look like a Banksy mural brought to life are all present in this punchy piece which also includes some clowning and aerial work. It may not be the Disney rendition realised on stage but that was clearly never the intention.

AVIVA STUDIOS 27TH – 31ST MARCH

LOST AND FOUND

Children's Theatre

Written by Oliver Jeffers

Adapted and Directed by Will Brenton

Music by Gruff Rhys

FACTORY INTERNATIONAL

At its heart Lost and Found is about the importance of imagination, communication and connection…the very things that form the essence of our humanity. Storytelling is how we help young children make sense of the world around them and hopefully imbibe them with a lifelong love of the Arts. Director Will Brenton has adapted this award winning children’s favourite by Oliver Jeffers for the stage and it is a truly magical experience.

Softly colourwashed staging combines a set that displays the detritus of washed up flotsam and jetsam. It also serves to cleverly disguise some of the live musicians on stage and allows for the ebb and flow of props such as boats, bathtubs and the Lost and Found office. Set and Costume Designer Jean Chan has beautifully evoked every page of this illustrated storybook in the most delightful manner. Moments where a characters’ arms stretch out like retractable hoses to grab packages or a gleaming bathtub that conjures up a yellow duck seem effortlessly natural and therefore suspend reality and immerse the audience further in the pages of this storybook.

The use of puppetry by Puppetry Director Olly Taylor sees seagulls move around the theatre interacting with the children in the audience and also driving the narrative during set changes. The performers imbibe them with an uncanny realism that is delightful. The sense of perspective and distance of the journey undertaken by the boy and the penguin is further enhanced by the small models used in conjunction with the animation by Keyframe Studios. The combination of movement, music, animation and puppetry fills this large stage while also giving the sense of soaring space that is the South Pole.

There are some lovely opportunities to interact with the young audience. A boat has missing elements which the children can help discover and one lucky child finds a vital piece under their seat requiring a trip unto the stage. Moments where the penguin mimics the boy create an almost Pantomime vibe. There are audible gasps as trees descend from above, and swirling mist and storms buffet the tiny rowing boat.

The boy and the penguin are delightful as they hesitantly develop a real friendship and come to understand each other. The whole production exudes a real charm and wimsy that builds the sense of childlike wonder. The music created by Gruff Rhys of Super Furry Animals builds the emotion and the real sense of scope being out on the ocean virtually alone. Musicians meander on to the stage coming together with a raggle taggle feel that echoes the coming together of a caille. There is a softness to the colours used in the set, and with the lighting and the soundscape that also seem carefully considered to make this production suitable for all children including any with neurodivergency or other sensory triggers. This is the first family show to feature in the programming at Factory International and it sets the bar high for future productions.

Factory International 12th Dec 2023 – 06th Jan 2024

The House with Chicken Legs

Children's Theatre, Large Theatres, Musical, Puppetry, Uncategorized

Written by Sophie Anderson

Adapted by Oliver Lansley

Directed by Oliver Lansley and James Seager

Co-production HOME and Les Enfants Terribles

HOME excels at being a welcoming venue for vibrant, colourful and riotous productions such as the Emma Rice’s Wise Children and The Tiger Lillies Corrido de la Sangre. This brand new collaboration with Les Enfants Terribles is no exception. This lively adaptation of the hugely successful children’s book by Sophie Anderson is brimming with energetic performances, Eastern European folklore, music, puppetry and animation. Its easy to see why The House with Chicken Legs was such a great choice to showcase the very varied talents of Les Enfants Terrible as they celebrate 20 years as a successful company.

The House with Chicken Legs tells a tale steeped in Eastern European folklore as the audience are invited into the netherworld of this house of bones which is home to Baba Yaga and her granddaughter Marinka. They play host to nightly parties for the dead before guiding souls through the gate to the afterlife and safely on their journey back to the stars. Baba Yaga relishes her role as gatekeeper unlike 12 year old Marinka who wistfully dreams of a life among the living. The fantastical house moves often and careers around the world on its chicken legs so Marinka is quite literally a displaced child. Although in development from before the pandemic this story is particularly relevant in our current political times. The folk music and the rustic borscht and kvass that nourish the living and the dead have much of their roots in Ukraine. Witnessing Marinka in this house that literally moves without warning is a potent reflection on what it is to be a refugee child who has witnessed death all around her.

Eve de Leon Allen as Marinka
Andrew AB Photography

This production is brimming over with passion and energy. Like the house itself it moves constantly between quiet, beautiful moments of reflective song or charming storytelling through puppets crafted from wood and bones through to riotous parties for the dead and dreamy, kaleidoscopic animation sequences. The house is sometimes homespun cosy for Baba Yaga or jazzy and sassy for the Yaga Tatiana in New Orleans while in other instances it literally grows legs to be on the move. Intimate moments with ingenue Marinka can be replaced by big song numbers with the whole cast resplendent in Yaga house costumes from across the world that lead to bizarre sequences that feel like you are suddenly watching some bonkers Eastern European entry for Eurovision!!

Pérola Conga as Baba Tatiana
Andrew AB Photography

There is enough content here to have something for everyone. The set design by Jasmine Swan is suitably fantastical and glorious, as is the lighting design and fabulous costumes. The musicians are multi talented and a pleasure to listen to. The performances are strong and well fleshed out. Eve de Leon Allen is perfectly cast as Marinka and has a beautiful tone to their singing voice. Lisa Howard and Pérola Conga excel as Baba Yaga and Baba Tatiana, with the latter giving a real powerhouse performance as a sexy, sultry ancient Yaga full of wisdom and panache. Matthew Burns brings magic with a simple puppet and a glistening fan that brings Jackdaw to life for both adults and children. There really is a lot to enjoy and admire in this production however there are points where the pace gets bogged down in repetitive narrative and this clever show loses its tautness. The result is overly long and coming in at just under 3 hours with the interval may be more than some younger kids will comfortably appreciate.

The House with Chicken Legs
Andrew AB Photography

The House with Chicken Legs has definitely got big enough Legs to take itself out on tour. This is a production that celebrates being different and has a strong message of inclusion. It is both magical and macabre but with enough heart at its core to tell us about death and loss in a way that may bring comfort and reassurance to children and adults alike as we navigate our own stories of what it is to live our lives and mourn our dead.

HOME 29th March – 23rd April 2022

The House with Chicken Legs by Sophie Anderson

Les Enfants Terribles

The Global Playground

Children's Theatre, Dance, Physical Theatre

Director Sue Buckmaster

Choreographer Gregory Maqoma

Composer Ayanna Witter-Johnson

Great Northern Warehouse

Manchester International Festival 2021

A family theatre show in the midst of an ongoing pandemic is special for so many reasons. In a MIF programme that is for many alarmingly short on theatre and dance, there is no small pressure on Theatre-Rites to use their 25 years of experience to make something very special indeed. The focus of The Global Playground is all about the joy of unfettered play. It is all about exuberance, collaboration and celebration. A show for families can often appear off putting with the assumption it will be either saccharine or heavy handed or sadly both. However Director Sue Buckmaster and MIF have a proven flare for family programming that can appeal to all ages in ways that delight and inform. The Global Playground delivers on entertainment with a neat look into the world of creative film making.

The Global Playground. Theatre-Rites. MIF21.Jahmarley Bachelor and Sean Garratt ©Tristram Kenton

This is a show within a show as it unfolds, it is clear that we are the audience watching the filming of a show for children’s television that reflects diversity in dance. It soon becomes clear that we are also witnessing the lovable flustered Sean Garratt as an inexperienced film director faced with mounting challenges as dancers and musicians drop out due to travel restrictions and other issues that neatly reflect the last year of a global pandemic. Creative solutions abound as Kennedy Junior Muntanga dances a duet on Zoom with Thulani Chauke who genuinely couldn’t travel to Britain as originally planned. Merlin Jones takes the reins playing all the live instruments when composer Ayanna Witter-Johnson is also unable to appear.

A circular stage has a flavour of the circus and certainly this is a performance filled with clowning and buffoonery but the staging also creates a feeling of safety for all in this new world of covid safety. This is a set filled with film equipment which is introduced and explained to the audience. Above, in front and behind there is always stuff to see. Images are projected on walls, a drum kit looks down on us, a talking camera is sometimes like a chatty ventriloquists’ dummy or becomes snake like and sinister as it darts a red light across the stage like a beady, disapproving eye. This is a fun way to learn about sound and lighting on a set.

The dance performances are uniformly excellent and varied. There are flavours of a range of styles including contemporary with hip hop dance offs and moments of clowning. The sheer exuberance and joy of movement is palpable and shines through in the facial expressions of all the performers particularly Annie Edwards and Jahmarley Bachelor. Puppetry and ventriloquism also feature and are seamlessly interwoven into the story by choreographer Gregory Maqoma.

The Global Playground by Theatre-Rites. Annie Edwards and Jahmarley Bachelor. ©Tristram Kenton

The dancers increasingly take charge doing their own thing and left to play something new and beautiful emerges. The set is deconstructed and props and equipment are repurposed as lighting equipment become skirts and a wonky tripod covered in duct tape becomes the choreographer. There is an anarchic element yet also an underlying message that if we embrace the chaos we may create a new order that has its own intrinsic value.

Unit 5, Great Northern Warehouse 2-18 July 2021

THE FOREST OF FORGOTTEN DISCOS!

Children's Theatre, Small Theatres

Hope Mill Theatre

Written by Jackie Hagan

Directed by Nickie Miles-Wildin

Commissioned by CONTACT

This is CONTACT’s final show of the year as part of its Contact in the City programme while the new theatre is being built. This time we find them at Hope Mill Theatre which is a perfect festive setting for the Christmas children’s show. Mince pies, mulled wine, carol singers and craft tables for the children set the scene for Jackie Hagan’s The Forest of Forgotten Discos!

The general air of expectation is not disappointed when Alexa from the Amazonian rainforest suddenly appears to welcome the audience into the forest. Children are “scanned” and chatted to by the robotic Alexa who clearly delights in her role of giving information and helping others. Sophie Coward as Alexa is engaging and charismatic. Clad in a fabulous diy hi-tech skirt adorned with flashing lights , Sky remote scanner , etch-a-sketch and other discarded toys and household items, the character is both magically intriguing and easily accessible.

The Forest is full of trees decorated with patchwork crochet squares and brightly coloured gingham, reminiscent trees in local streets with a strong sense of community. The bear’s homes use discarded tents and shower curtains to create a feel that echoes the homeless “villages” in every major city or perhaps the Refugee camps of Calais. Designer Katharine Heath has created a set that is full of charm and is incredibly detailed. Each home is a treasure trove of discarded junk that captures the personality of each character in such a way that I was itching to explore after the show.

The three bears are no cosy, cuddly storybook bears clutching porridge bowls. These bears are discarded or forgotten toys, shabby from past love and cuddles, now scavenging from picnics and refuse bins. Tongue-in-cheek Hagan has a little dig at the organic supermarkets of Chorlton, and keeps the humour flowing with a flatulent bear who lives on baked beans and whose farts are captured as an energy source. Bear Grills, Bear Minimum and Bear Hugs are threadbare, patched and faded,their Velveteen is dulled and gaping where their stuffing pokes through. Each one has a back story that reflects and celebrates the dispossessed and those who feel “other” in our Society. CONTACT, Hagan and Director Nickie Miles-Wildin are clearly all on the same page with a Christmas message that is teaching our children about integration in a joyful and accessible manner.

When feisty 9 year old Red arrives in the forest she is unhappy and frustrated by the prospect of her dad’s new girlfriend. Epitomising that child impulse to run away unaware of risks or outcomes, she encounters Alexa and the bears. The power of disco has gone from the Forest and even virtual assistant Alexa is unsure how to restore it for Christmas. The story of how they all manage to work together despite their differences is a celebration of cooperation and two fingers up to divisive thinking.

Incorporating sign language and visual story telling techniques, this playful tale ensures lots of audience engagement and on stage participation from the children. Even the seating arrangements allow for kids gathering around the stage on cushions and beanbag stools like nursery storytime, while the adults can sit back on chairs or get down with the kids. Having learned our bear boogie dance moves, everyone gets to join in as the power of disco is restored. It is riotous and joyful as the glitterball kicks into action and the disco hits keep playing it’s a little like being in a live TOTPS in the Seventies with The Wombles. Festive feelgood with bags of charm.

CONTACT at Hope Mill Theatre 11-23 December

Images by Lee Baxter

Off the Grid

Children's Theatre, Immersive Theatre, Large Theatres

Waterside, Sale

Written by David Lane

Directed by Chris Elwell

Off the Grid is an immersive play written by David Lane for children’s theatre specialists Half Moon. It looks at the very real issue of what happens when our children and young people fall outside of the social care system and find themselves living “off the grid”.

The stage design by Chris Elwell does an effective job of immersing the audience in this story and ensures none of us stay comfortable and settled in our seats of choice. Like the two main protagonists in this story we are never quite certain of a place to be. The metal grids ensure stark minimalism but also store the props that help drive the narrative. The constant shifts in this piece work well and never create confusion for an audience who may not all be familiar with immersive theatre.

The story of abandoned children, Connor and his little sister Kelly, exactly 10 years younger could be unrelentingly bleak. Sensitive writing and strong performances from Bradley Connor and Jesse Bateson ensure there is plenty of shades in this production. The blend of pathos and desperation is balanced by the children’s capacity for magical thinking. Connor creates a rich internal world that cloaks them both in safer, more hopeful existence as a buffer between them and the harsh reality of their plight.

Bradley Connor gives an intense and impassioned performance. He has a capacity to both enthrall with his storytelling and to petrify as his little sister becomes an obstacle to his own burgeoning needs. He is adept at moving through the space and connecting with the audience in a very potent manner. Jesse Bateson rises to the challenge of conveying her character as a very young child and as a teenager. There is skill and confidence in her performance and she brings real charm and innocence to the role of Kelly.

Running a psychotherapy practice I have encountered a number of adults who have had not too similar childhoods to Kelly and Connor. This production tells an important story that unfortunately is only too true in our current Society. Half Moon have produced a work that is socially and politically relevant and which resonates on a personal level. This is the kind of storytelling in Theatre that makes funding for the Arts so important, and makes attending theatre so rewarding and informing.

On tour

Images by Stephen Beeny

The Siege of Christmas

Children's Theatre, Immersive Theatre, Large Theatres, Promenade

CONTACT
Directed by Alan Lane

Contact Young Company

CONTACT AND SLUNG LOW

Having just seen a big, high octane pantomime earlier this week I was curious as to see how Contact Young Company (CYC) would approach a Christmas family show. Under the direction of Alan Lane from the wonderful Leeds based Slung Low this was Christmas entertainment at its magical best.

This promenade performance starts in the foyer as everyone dons headphones which serve to immerse everyone in the performance as it feels like we are all on an Nutcracker Army comms exercise or a festive Mission Impossible!!

Despite the reassuring tone of Dan the Front of House manager there is clearly something seriously amiss at CONTACT. The building has been taken over by some seriously grouchy mince pies and the spirit of Christmas is under siege trapped somewhere in the building we are now locked out off.

What’s more the snow has focused all it’s fall just by the foyer and things are getting a bit chilly. Thank heavens that there is a sudden appearance from a tooled up, highly skilled ninja-like Nutcracker toy soldier who is in search of helpers to save the spirit of Christmas. Sneaking us in via a back door we creep through the darkened with our youngest soldier proudly clutching the remnants of our vital map. This production brilliantly uses the technique of splitting up the audience on the promenade parts to ensure everyone will access needs is included and involved at every stage.

Once inside we encounter a range of magical characters battling their misgivings about Christmas. Elf-like despondent toymakers, sulky teenage fairies who have mislaid their fairy dust, a melting showgirl in a globe and disheartened life size crackers who can’t pull and feisty rapping Xmas wrap which has somehow come alive.

This mission teaches its audience many useful life skills such as how to do the nutcracker freeze , how to custard creep, and how to stop a snow globe from over heating in a building set at a constant 28 degrees. Most importantly of course it reminds us of kindness, co-operation and empathy in an often unequal, unfair World.

All the cast act their wings off and children and adults alike are spellbound by the unfolding scenes. This show makes glorious use of the simple things we associate with Christmas- crackers, twinkling lights, glitter, snowflakes and silly festive jumpers. By the time we have crept through the building gathering resources for our final siege I defy anyone to not feel touched, a little bit humbled and a whole lot more in the mood for Christmas.

This is a perfect final show for CONTACT as it highlights it’s focus on young people while allowing theatre lovers to say goodbye to a much loved building before it closes its doors for an exciting new rebuilding and refurbishment programme in 2018. Christmas is looking sparkly and the future of CONTACT is looking bright.

At CONTACT until Dec 20th

DUCKIE

Cabaret, Children's Theatre, Large Theatres, Musical, Uncategorized

CONTACT
Writer/ Performer – Le Chocolat Gateau
Produced/Developed – In Company Collective
There are moments when I wish I could rewind time with my children and go back to when they were very young. Today was such a day, watching the gorgeous DUCKIE I wished my teenage darlings were ten years younger and there in the audience with me. This show is a wonderfully deft merging of cabaret, children’s theatre, fairy tale reimagining and a big dollop of old Hollywood magic.
Cabaret performer and Opera singer Le Gateau Chocolat takes the much loved tale of The Ugly Duckling by Hans Christian Anderson and goes to the circus to seek out soulmates for this lonely misfit, the runt of the litter. To the delight of the child in all of us, the mischievious performer portrays a duck who cannot quack but belches instead. His lonely duckie can’t quack or dance, he is too small to be a muscleman and too big, too yellow, too tall…… DUCKIE would seem to be a duck who is seriously down on his luck.
The voiceover which speaks to DUCKIE and at times the audience is soothing and reassuring- a bit like having Judy Dench voicing your bedtime story. The rest is simply the gorgeous baritone voice of Le Gateau Chocolat which is like having your senses bathed in warm chocolate fondant. The songs often tweaked to fit the story range from Disney classics through to The Pussycat Dolls Don’t cha and La Cage Aux Folles I am what I am to Cyndi Laupers Girls just want to have fun.
Visually the set is deceptively simple but with dressing up clothes tucked away and bright umbrellas popping out it holds gems of surprise. The lighting design is magical and reminds me of the country village circus tours of my childhood. Throughout his costume changes there is always the fluid physicality, warmly, gleaming eyes and glittery lips. This is a performer who is totally at ease with his audience, both young and simply young at heart. It would be hard not to be drawn into DUCKIE’S world and empathise with his plight.
When the insults come increasingly thick and fast and the voicing of them sounds more and more like children the true dark background to the story shines through. DUCKIE is rendered small, wounded and vulnerable as he looks out in confusion at a world that will not let him belong. His salvation through a beautifully rendered little mouse is touching and ensures a fairytale happy ending. We shun or ridicule what is “ugly” not because it’s ugly but simply because it is different. DUCKIE delivers a message of acceptance and tolerance that resonates with adults and sews a seed in young children that hopefully blossoms in every new generation.
CONTACT 24-25 OCTOBER