www.list.co.uk/kids
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THE BIG UGLY MONSTER AND THE LITTLE STONE RABBIT
Look for the beauty within
lheie are In f. of lllUr’l‘Sltfl‘i appearing
at llllf; ,ear'f; l iiiide but none so ugl, af; lill‘; one lhe Bit; Ill)", Monster is so ugly. he can turn a sunny sky to snow and evaporate a pond fillllllly by flipping Ill?) toe in
Inside. however, he}; l()‘.(:l‘y, lonely and badly lll need of a ltlUlltI. Based on (:Illlf} \"*.r/()llllt}ll.f, bestselling book. llllf} charming tale proves how friends can lie ti mud in the most unlikely places; even ones made of stone. So unleasibly unattractive is the monster. however, that the mere sight ol him causes all his stone carved animals to crumble
Aimed at ages three and over. the shows vocal narration comes from none other than Rik Mayall. And, given that this production it; a madcap concoction of music. buffoonery and puppetry. lvlavall's slightly hysterical tones WI” no doubt add to the humour. (Sian Bevanl I P/egwnce Courtyard, 5:56 ($5130. -l-r;’;'Ai/g, loop/n. 5‘)" 3‘8 il‘:'>.:’>() l‘tifilli. l’retiews until (3 Aug).
except one.
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THE BIG FILLING:
THIS TIME IT’S PIE-SONAL Detective thriller where you
call the shots
lheatrical influences come from many sources. but it's not often you find a kids show parodying 19:30s film now: But. as Steve Pretty co-writm of The Big Filling explains. it was the perfect choice. 'We wanted to make a yen,
a i. Show with fs'iri'tt', dark And Ctr"
' air was a 'ta'..r'a‘ .el‘icle ‘cr building
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2 l')‘r‘," (/(f ’I”’ en Jr) ' ii. Pter'tan tries to
’ v" rte“: .'.i°'t oierxori. Dair- MCF Hing. tr e bent: ‘..~ Danna Past”. tries. t , 'teip. .vt’x 't'amat" "“Sft’ltdfl "‘ef’,
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Kirl‘, .‘.’;".". {MP in, the }.'o’- ;t ":l‘rf‘tfl’ US.- «'l’ll'lit‘) PNEYT, ’3lif 9‘4"“ fl‘e archetrte‘, were tr; '1; 3W: littfl‘h.ll‘fflfii’llf',fli1.'.‘:llli:f(.ill(: glamorous mone star .voman -- are all ’1tllt‘3‘:£l.‘§‘,' touchstoneg for kids. And .ve .vanted to make a show that kids ‘flllfly. but that also had a deeper level for parents' «Kelly Apteri
I llnderbe/h. 0870 745308.32 4-27 Aug «not 75/. 70-16(1/72, £‘8——§‘S) «l‘fr if)“. Previews; Q 8 (3 Aug, :‘-1.
GREEN MEANIE
Monster fun on a global scale
Environmental problems may be increasineg obvious to adults. but teaching children about the cause and effect of modern life can be tricky. Which is why writer. Leon Fleury had to strike a balance between education and entertainment when he penned envrronmental show. The Green Meanie.
'We'ye touched on animal extinction. destruction of the rainforest. global warming. pollution and recyclrng.‘ says Fleury. ‘But realistically all we are trying to do is give children an awareness that every action they take has an effect. and that the effect can be far reaching.‘
Set now. and 20 years in the future. The Green Mean/e follows a little girl With a long list of wants. The eponyiitous monster is happy to oblige. oblivious to the destruction he causes along the way. Until finally. the girl is forced to make some changes.
'Primarily. The Green Mean/e is a fun tourney. With crazy pltySical performances and great stOrytelling,' says Fleury. 'And hopefully, along the way children wrll learn a few things about the world' iKeIly Apteri I The Green Room. 220 0885. 5—26 Aug. 77.3Oam, [6—57 @546).
Prei rews 2—4 Aug. f5.
CAT AND NO MOUSE
Double act cabaret for kids
As one half of children's theatre company. Tall Stories. Toby Mitchell has had a conSiderable ant/aunt of Fringe Success. Add to that his penchant for one-man comedy shows
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JAMES CAMPBELL’S ONOMATOPOEIA SOCIETY Ill and SPINISTRY OF MOONERISM
Two shows, one cast
James Campbell is the guy that does stand-up comedy for kids, and has carved out a very nice niche for himself in entertaining the harshest critics on the planet. However, not content with that, this Fringe he‘s going one step further by running two shows simultaneously, featuring the same cast
who’ll run from room to room.
Sounds like a logistical and emotional nightmare and begs the question — why? He explains that it came after the success of last year‘s Onomatopoeia Society. ‘One of the cast members became so good I thought they needed a spin-off show,‘ says Campbell. ‘80 we created The Spinistry of Moonen'sm. They‘re in the same world so it seemed like a good idea.’ But the boy isn’t stupid. and has written a ‘Something‘s Gone Wrong Song’ that all the players can perform to plug any awkward gaps.
The Society is dedicated to onomatopoeia, and finding a better way of describing things than boring old fwahflaffle (ridiculous) English. In a world where chomp-eek-parp means squirrel, anything could. and probably will, happen. Mr Campbell explains the best way to enjoy the shows: ‘First of all you don’t have to have seen parts one and two, that‘s very important. You can see them either way round. If you’re a family of four, then two go and see one, two the other, talk about it over the evening and then swap the next day - that's the perfect way to do it.‘ (Sian Bevan)
I Assembly a. George Street. 623 3030, .1—-.?7 Aug, (Noemi. 50-57 15 l I».
Prey/ews 2 8 3 Aug. F5 (£74).
I
such as A British Gurde to World Peace. and he's a very busy man. He‘s not too busy to dash off another helping of kids theatre. however, as Cat and No Mouse will ably prove.
The show was Originally derelooeo with Tall Stories — and then ran off in its own unique direction] exolains
writer and director, Mitchell 'Ari'l nor: its a bit like l/lorer,arnbe and Wine Crossed .‘Jllll Tom and Jerry, telling stories from the Brothers Grimm Featuring storytelling, (,Ulllh‘fly. dance numbers and mar ir, trial/u. (gal and 7/0 Mouse follow". the f‘fll’llll’} exploits of a double act xx! x, constantly disagree. ‘The arcs; in all about the pOSSibilities of stor/telling.‘ says Mitchell. ‘The strange places /ou can take a Simple stony. and whether two unequal characters can ever really be frrends.‘ lKelly Apteri I C, 0845 2607234, 3-27Ai/g rrrot 73/. 70.30am, £6.60—F850 (£4.50—E650).
NEXT ISSUE OUT WEDNESDAY 8 AUGUST
2—9 Ar; 2/, 7 THE LIST FESTIVAL MAGAZINE 41