festival festival KIDS For more info go to LIST.CO.UK /FESTIVAL
DAVID BADDIEL’S ANIMALCOLM Energetic stage adaptation of Baddiel’s hit kids’ book
To grown-ups, he’s the guy who sits next to Frank Skinner and talks about football or has us in stitches at his stand-up. But to a generation of children, David Baddiel delivers the laughs in quite a different way – through his i ve entertaining books for younger readers.
Whether his protagonist is celebrating daily in Birthday Boy or swapping his mum and dad for new models in The Parent Agency, Baddiel uses astuteness and humour to capture both children and adults. Which is why acclaimed
theatre company Story Pocket looked to him for their latest show for families. The tale of a boy who can’t stand animals –
until he turns into several of them – AniMalcolm has been adapted for the stage, complete with songs and energetic physical theatre. Baddiel’s book is aimed at 9 to 12-year-olds, but he’s made sure his humour works across the board.
‘When I i rst started writing books for children, I decided I wasn’t going to patronise or talk down to them when it came to
comedy,’ he says. ‘Although when I was a kid, that was probably the correct thing to do because children back then didn’t have a very sophisticated sense of humour. But now, my son and his mates grew up watching The Simpsons, Pixar movies and the internet, so by the age of eight they had the same sense of humour a 27-year-old had 20 years ago.’ (Kelly Apter) ■ Gilded Balloon Teviot, 1–19 Aug (not 13), 11.30am, £7–£12 (£7–£10).
1–8 Aug 2018 THE LIST FESTIVAL 89