FESTIVAL KIDS | Reviews
MICHAEL MORPURGO’S KENSUKE’S KINGDOM Family drama at sea proves deeply moving ●●●●●
With such great source material, you’d have to work hard to mess up a Michael Morpurgo novel. But WildChild Productions treat his 1999 book with the respect it deserves, perfectly capturing the familial love, sea-faring adventure and friendship the story embodies.
When his unemployed parents decide to use their redundancy money to buy a yacht, life for 11-year-old Michael is turned upside down. No more school, no more critical granny telling them all their plans will ‘never work’. Instead, Michael’s view of the world expands in ways he could never have imagined: both geographically and emotionally.
Visiting Africa, South America and Australia on their travels, Michael, his parents and trusty dog Stella Artois are a tightly bonded unit – so when the young boy falls overboard and wakes up on a desert island, we feel their collective sense of loss.
With Stella to chat to (an ably handled puppet), we can hear
Michael’s innermost thoughts, which are surprisingly perky given the circumstances. But it is his connection with Kensuke, an elderly Japanese man resident on the island for 40 years, that really brings the show alive. Like Stella, and two gorgeous orangutans, Kensuke is played by a puppet, which somehow gives the character even more emotional resonance.
As Kensuke teaches Michael to fish, paint and look after the
orangutans when a ship-load of poachers arrives, their relationship blossoms. Which means, in true Morpurgo style, you’re reaching for the tissues in the last two scenes (no spoilers here, for those who haven’t read the book). As with many Fringe shows, the set of sails, pulleys and foliage
could do with more room to breathe, as could the action. But when a show’s heart is firmly in the right place, none of that matters. (Kelly Apter) ■ Pleasance Courtyard, until 27 Aug, £8.50–£11 (£7.50–£10).
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IF YOU GIVE A MOUSE A COOKIE Engaging visual show for the wee ones ●●●●● THE BEAR Raymond Briggs' classic brought to life ●●●●●
BRAINIAC LIVE! Former TV show explosively re-born ●●●●●
Particularly successful in the United States, the 1985 children’s book If You Give a Mouse a Cookie doesn’t offer much in terms of material to adapt. Written by Laura Numeroff and illustrated by Felicia Bond, it’s a simple tale of a boy who gives a cookie to a mouse he finds in his house, and then finds himself asked for a glass of milk to wash it down, scissors to trim the mouse’s hair, a bedtime story, and so on. The book was so successful that it’s generated 15 sequels and a recent animated version on Amazon.
You can tell just how big Bear is by the way it squeezes through the window into Tilly's room as she sleeps, pushing against the frame, big paws – detached from its huge hooped body – plodding down onto the toy box beneath the window. There's nothing scary about this bear, however.
It's more friendly than Raymond Briggs’s rather stern picture book original. It seems to be half smiling when it comes to stay with Tilly and her parents, who seem to spend their time at work or in the shed, leaving her and the bear to explore the house.
Produced by the Manhattan Theatre Company – There's no question that the bear puppet is the
although the acting company consists of two Scots (Kamen Brown and Imogen Reiter) and an English actor (Sarah Haddath) – this version stretches the original tale out, and plays it for slapstick laughs and silly fun. star of this show, but it does take a long time to arrive. First the adaptation from Pins and Needles Productions needs to establish Tilly (the hugely engaging Leigh Quinn ) in her room, and her parents (who will operate the puppet) as long-suffering.
‘The show that farts in the sleeping bag of science,’ is what Brainiac Live! proudly declares itself, and it becomes hard to imagine that this perfectly pitched show for young kids who want to hear rude jokes and see things blow up, was once aimed at adults; or at least, the television show from the 2000s was.
Now, however, this big-room event in the McEwan Hall is situated in a space which reverberates with the sound of exploding oil drums and screaming kids. Although it’s fair to say that this probably isn’t a show for kids susceptible to loud noises – or at least those not yet able to read the fingers-in-ears warning signs.
Yet for most, Brainiac Live! appears to be absolutely
thrilling, with our quartet of hosts (Ned, Ed, Raz and Dave) conducting live ‘experiments’ which have more grounding in the world of stunts, albeit with hard science backing them up.
The glass of milk is a character in itself, for
When Bear does arrive, the focus is on events in This involves running through a sheet of
example, while the slightly odd decision to have both Reiter and Haddath play the mouse does give rise to an amusing mirror scene. At 45 minutes, the very simple thread of the original tale is diluted somewhat, but the show works well as an engaging dose of visual fun for smaller children. (David Pollock) ■ Assembly Rooms, until 25 Aug, 10.30am, £6–£9.
the house – having a bath is particularly effective and an opportunity to spray the audience. Riding out into the midnight sky is, sadly, rather tagged on to the end and there is no loping around town at night. But the discovery of Bear in its Arctic home with its baby is a well-worked pay-off. (Thom Dibdin) ■ Pleasance Courtyard, until 27 Aug (not 20), noon, £9–£12 (£7.50–£10.50). plasterboard, shooting T-shirts at the crowd through air cannons, blowing smoke rings with a special bazooka contraption and popping oxygen-filled balloons with an almighty bang. Racket aside, it’s an accessible, informative show which speaks to kids about the excitement and mystery of science. (David Pollock) ■ Underbelly Bristo Square, until 27 Aug, 11am, £12–£15 (£10–£13).
72 THE LIST FESTIVAL 15–27 Aug 2018