Outside the Cities
Activities And Fun
Creative Dance Sat I7 Mar & Sat 24 Mar. 11am noon ck; 12.30 1.30pm. £18 for 3 weeks. ('ow ane ('cntre. (‘owane Street. Stirling. 01786 473544. Advance booking required. Ages 5 7 and 8 i0. A fun introduction to dance w here children can deyelop their co- ordination and create dance routines. Drama Workshops Sat I7 .\lar .& Sat 24 Mar. 1 1.30am 1.30pm &
2 4pm. £22 (or four weeks. (‘owane ('entre. (‘owanc Street. Stirling. 01730 473544. Advance hooking required. Ages () ‘) and I0 12. l’crfornumce. stagecralt and characterisation w ill he taught at this drama course led by 'I'ri ('umming.
Cool For Kids Tue 20 .\1ar & ’l'uc 27 Mar. 7 ‘)pm. £ 1.5 lot 5 weeks. ('owanc ('entre. (‘owane Street. Stirling. 01786 473544. Adyance hooking required. Ages oycr S. Learn louse your \oicc through singing games and songs. Digital Badges Workshop Sun 25 Mar. 1 4pm. 75p. Summerlee Heritage l’ark. lleritage Way. ('oatht'idge.(11230431201. Agesoy CI 6. Have your photo taken and then help turn your image into a badge.
Film
Pokemon 2000 (H Sun 25 Mar. 2.30pm. £1.50. MacRohert. l'niy'ersity of Stirling. Stirling. (11780 401081. See l‘ilm Index.
Theatre
Peter Pan Sun 18 Mar. 3pm. £4 (£2). liast Kilhride Arts ('cntrc. ()ld (‘oach Road. liast Kilht'ide. 01355 201000. Ages 5 S. Iidinhurgh Puppet (‘ompany retell the story of the boy w ho ncy‘er grew tip. Join Peter Pan. Wendy. (‘aptain Hook and the l.ost Boy s as they embark on a dangerously exciting adventure.
Beethoven’s Brother ’I‘hu 22 Mar. 10.30am. £2.50. .\I;icRohei‘t. l'niy'ersity of Stirling. Stirling. 01786 401081. Ages 8+. See lidinhurgh.
Clash 'l'ue 27 Mar. 1.30pm. £2.50. MacRohert. l'niy'ersity of Stirling. Stirling. 01786 461081. 1.udus1)ance ('ompany. one of Britain's leading companies for young people. create an energetic look at the effects of conllict. from the playground to the workplace. Wild Girl, Wild Boy Sat 24 Mar.
I lam. £2.50. Mackohert. l’niy'ersity of Stirling. Stirling. 017st) 461081. Ages 8+. l’op-l'p present the tale of a young girl who meets a wild boy in a magical wasteground.
Smike Wed 28 Thu 2‘) .\1ar. 7pm. £5 (£3 ). Adam Smith 'l'heatre. Hennoehy Road. Kirkcaldy. ()l5‘)2 4 I 2‘)2‘). l)unnikier School present this pop musical loosely based on (‘harles Dickens' Nicholas .\'it‘/\('//)_\‘. which follows the trials of the children as they try to brighten up their dreary school life.
Stroma Thu 2‘) l~‘i'i 30 Mar. 'I’hu lpm & 7.30pm;15ri 10am & lpm. £2. Rolhcs Ilalls. Rothes Square. (ilenrothes. 015‘)2 (ll 1 101. See lidinhurgh.
The International Purves Puppets Biggar l’uppet 'l‘heatre. Broughtou Road. 0180‘) 220(i3 1. £5 (£4); family tickets £23 & £36. Book in advance as times are subject to change. Reductions for parties of fly e or more. Shows on offer over the nest two weeks
Pips And Panda In Magiciand Thu 15 Mar. 10.45am; Sun 18 Mar. 2pm; Sat 24 Mar 2pm. Ages up to 7. When Mr Magic takes l’ips and Panda off to Magiclantl. they meet lots of nursery rhyme characters w ho jump out of .\Ir .\lagic's mysterious hook.
The Magical Princess Hi It» .\lar. 10.45am; Sat 17 Mar. 2pm. A Russian folktale about Andreas. a brave adventurer who tries to save his beautiful princess from the wicked Tsar.
Kids
Puppet Animation Festival
.llmi 2f) Sui 2/ Apr. \iu'iuus li'muw. (’t'nlm/ and Southern Si'oI/mu/ Festival performances are listed alphabetically by show title and then by venue in date order. Shows listed until Thu 29 Mar, and further listings will be published in forthcoming issues. For a copy of the festival programme, contact the Netherbow Arts Centre on 0131 556 9579.
Performances
JACK AND THE BEANSTALK Kenspeckle l’uppets' show tells this classic fairytale using humour and catchy tunes.
Gorgie/Dalry Community Association 22 .\lacl.eod Street. (iorgie. 33 3252. Mon 20 Mar. 10.30am. £2.50.
Harbour Arts Centre I I4 I It) llarhour Street. lry inc. 012‘)4 27405‘). 'l'ue 27 Mar. 10.30am & 1.30pm. £1.50. JOURNEY TO THE CENTRE OF THE EARTH Ages S l I. l'iollow Axel as he encounters exploding Volcanoes. man-eating dinosaurs and mysterious ma/es in Blue Boat 'l'heatre‘s adaptation ol Jllles Verne's classic noy Cl. .\lill'l\' l’cncak's puppetry takes the characters and the audience on an adventure into the unknown.
Burgh Halls The (loss, l.inlithgow. 01506 844o()0.'1‘hu 2‘) Mar. 10.30am. £4 (£2501; family ticket £12 (£7.50).
THE LITTLE RED HEN Ages 3 0. After laying an egg. the Little Red llen can't find anyone to help her make a cake. so she decides to do it all by herself. Shona Reppe l’uppets adapt this traditional tale using imaginatively designed puppets and gentle storytelling. Harbour Arts Centre I I4 I It) llarhour Street. In inc. ()1 2‘)4 27405‘). Mon 26 Mar. 10.30am & 1.30pm. £1.50. Craigsfarm .‘ylaree Walk. (‘raigshiIL l.i\ ingston. 01500 433634. Tue 27 Mar. 10.30am & 1.30pm. £4 (£2.50); family" ticket £ l 2 (£7.50).
THE DRAGONS OF BEN VAIR Ages 5 S. 'l‘wo ferocious dragons are terrorising a small crofting village but they soon meet their match in Archie
w ho seeks reyenge after his girlfriend is captured. The traditional Scottish tale is retold using the espert puppetry of 1-‘olding 'I'heatre l’uppet Company. Craigsfarm .\laree Walk. (‘i-aigshill. l.i\ ingston. 01506 433034. Wed 28 Mar. 10.30am. £4 (£2.50); family ticket £12 (£7.50).
TUM TUM TINKER Blue Boat 'l‘heatre's acclaimed show based on a needle which Is pitssc‘tl down I'I'otn generation to generation.
Harbour Arts Centre I l4 1 In llarhour Street. lry'ine. 012‘)4 27405‘). Wed 28 Mar. 10.30am & 1.30pm. £1.50. SALTY SAM’S SHIP-SHAPE SEA SHANTIES Ian ’l'urhitt’s Puppets tell the story of an old sea dog who divulges sea-faring stories and leads the children in some w ell-known sea-songs. Harbour Arts Centre I I44 16 llarhour Street. In ine. 0| 2‘)4 27405‘). Thu 2‘) Mar. 10.30am & 1.30pm. £1.50.
Shona Reppe’s Little Red Hen
FESTIVAL PREVIEW PUPPET ANIMATION FESTIVAL
Various venues, Central and Southern Scotland, Mon 26 Mar—Sat 21 Apr.
Now in its eighteenth year, the Puppet Animation Festival is a testament to the popularity of puppetry in Scotland. Last year, more than 150,000 people watched a puppetry performance by a Scottish company and this year’s festival promises to be bigger and better than ever, featuring over 180 performances in 80 different venues across Scotland.
Such is the growing reputation of the festival, it can now draw renowned international companies; Ireland’s Spring Onion Puppet Theatre will make their debut performance in Scotland with Androcles And The Lion and Garlic Theatre present their award-winning show, Flea Circus. Nevertheless, Festival Director Simon Hart believes that the strength of the festival lies in its ability to showcase Scottish talent: ‘Shona Reppe’s Little Red Hen has been one of our most successful shows and it’s come back this year because of demand. We also have a new Scottish company, Yugen Puppets, who are doing a traditional Scottish story, The Black Bull of Norroway, and I think they will develop into a strong, well-known company.’
In an age of technology, computer games and television, Hart is content that the art form is very much alive and kicking: ‘Puppetry is still seen virtually every day of the week on TV. BBC’s Walking With Dinosaurs programme used an incredible amount of puppetry along with computer graphics. But I think that when children come to a puppet show there is a greater sense of participation; there is an immediate interaction there that they don’t get from any other source.’ (Maureen Ellis)
(5-29 Mar 200’ THE LIST 91