Kids
Glasgow Kids continued
Emily’s House Thu 29 Apr~Sat 1 May. Thu. Fri 10.30am: Sat 1 1.30am. £5. Tron Theatre. 63 'l‘rongate. 552 4267. Visible Fictions presents this new play by Isabel Wright about stepsister and brother (lillian and Ben who are brought together in a strange and supernatural way — by a mischievous ghost named Iimily. See preview.
MUSIC
Westlife Fri 16—Thu 22 Apr (not Mon). 7.30pm. £26.50. SliCC. Finnieston Quay. 0870 0404000. Ballads and other pop hits from the Irish boyband.
Film
Valentin (PG) Mon 19 Apr. 10.30am. £2.50. Special screening for parents and babies. Cilasgow Film Theatre. 12 Rose Street. 332 8128. See Film Index. Bugs 3D ([7); Ghosts of the Abyss 3D (PG). Cyberworld 3D (PCil times vary. check Film listings for showing times. £5 (£3.50). IMAX Theatre. (ilasgow Science Centre. 50 Pacific Quay. 420 5000.
Activities And Fun
Dance Workshop Sat 24 Apr. 1 turn & 1pm. £1.50. North lidinburgh Arts Centre. 15a Pennywell Court. 315 2151. Dance workshop for 3—6 and 7 r l2-year- olds.
Get Stuck Into Some Cats Jewellery! Fri 16 Apr. 10.15am.
1 1.30am. 2pm & 3.15pm. Free. Royal Museum. 2 Chambers Street. 247 4219/4422. To tie in with the Cats exhibition make sortie laminated jewellery inspired by the feline models with artist and jewellery-maker Cathy Stafford. Bring your own cat pics if you fancy.
Op Art Thu 15 Apr. 10anr4pm. £15 (£10). Dean (iallery. 73 Belford Road. 624 6200. Ages 8--12. Create abstract paintings and reliefs.
This is Me! Thu 15 Apr. 10am~5pm. £3. Museum of Childhood. 42 High Street. 5294142. Ages 5—7. To coincide with an exhibition of photographs of children at the museum make a life size outline of yourself and bring along things that conjure up who you are to stick on. Call 0131 529 3962 to book a place.
Performance Skills Sat 17 Apr.
1 Iain & 1pm. £1.50. .\'orth lidinburgh Arts Centre. 15a Penny-well Court. 315 215]. Ages 10—13. ltnprove your performance skills at this theatre workshop with Tatiana Reid.
What’s for Dinner? Sat 17 Apr. 12.30pm. 2pm 8: 3.15pm. Free. Royal Mtiseum. 2 Chambers Street. 247 4219/4422. The Mammal Society lead this hands-on workshop into how different mammals nibble. gnash or gnaw their food.
Saturday Art Club - Printmaking Sat 24 Apr. l0am- noon & 1.30 3.30pm. £40 (£10). Dean (iallery. 73 Belford Road. 624 6200. Ages 5 -7 8; 8-—1 1. A four-week course starting this Saturday in printmaking led by artist Denise Walker.
Theatre & Dance
The Happy Gang’s Magic Castle! Mon 19 Apr. 1pm .12 4pm. £6.50 (£5.50); four for £23. Brunton Theatre. Ladywell Way. Musselburgh. 665 2240. Ages 2 8. Join the all-singing Ilappy (iang in the Magic Castle. Oliver TWist Tue 27 Apr-Sat 1 May. 7.30pm (Wed tnat 1.30pm. Sat mat 2.30pm). £9.50 £16.50 (£6.50 £13.50). King's Theatre. 2 [even Street. 529 6000. Dickens‘ tale of pick-pocketing and love set in the underbelly of Victorian London with the scurrilous I-agin. evil Bill Sykes and innocent young orphan ()liver suitable for ages 10+. Please Sir...
102 THE LIST 1:329 Apr 2004
CHILDREN'S THEATRE PREVIEW EMILY’S HOUSE Tron Theatre, Glasgow, Thu 29 Apr-Sat 1 May
Not happy. Stepfamilies and ghosts - where's the fun in that?
Families come in all shapes and sizes these days, but that doesn’t make it any easier. When theatre company Wsible Fictions worked with primary school kids from Paisley and Inverness on the cusp of entering secondary school they found the biggest concerns were a fear of change. ‘We became really aware that these kids were going from primary school to secondary school facing a lot of upheaval and also that a lot of these kids were coming out of families who weren’t the ‘model’ family of a mum and a dad staying together. A lot of them came from single parent families or whose parents had a boyfriend or a girlfriend,’ says co-artistic director Dougie Irvine. The difficulties of adjusting to new families has been explored brilliantly and sensitively in Anne Fine’s Goggle Eyes and Jacqueline Wilson’s The Suitcase Kid and even in the Hugh Grant - Toni Collette flick, About a Boy, but not often in theatre.
Visible Fictions’ latest play, Emily’s House, was developed through a collaborative approach with children, directors and writer, Isabel Wright, whose Mr Placebo won huge critical acclaim last year. It’s part domestic drama and part ghost story set in a creaking old house that children Gillian and Ben have to move to when their parents decide to shack-up. Suddenly Gillian and Ben are sharing their beloved mum and dad with strangers. And they don’t like it. One little bit.
And they certainly don’t like each other, but step-sibling rivalries take on a new direction when supernatural occurrences start to happen. ‘What also became clear to the artists working with the kids is that they love being scared and wanted to be spooked out by it,’ says Dougie. So, in accordance, Visible Fictions have fused the worries and delights of fear so that another presence - Emily’s - starts to shape dynamics. Neatly, ghosts, also come to represent those metaphorical apparitions that linger around the back of our hearts and minds. Exorcism and catharsis is an essential part of this play. ‘It is sad but it’s actually really empowering. You see these two young people go through some troubles and actually come out bigger, stronger human beings in the end and I think especially for primary audiences, that’s so important,’ says Dougie. ‘We are hopefully giving them a sense that no matter what life’s throwing at us that we can find a way to empower ourselves.’ (Ruth Hedges)
Exhibition Cats . . . the Ultimate Predators L'ntil Sun 30 May. Mon.
Over 100 photographs depicting
ranging from studio portraits to
Wed-Sat 10am 5pm; Sun noon 5pm: snapshots. Tue 10am 8pm. £4 (£2.50 £3): family ticket £12. Royal Museum. 2 Chambers BOOKS
Street. 247 4219/4422. A family orientated exhibition dedicated to over 30 known wild cat species.
Children in Focus t'ntil Mon 19 Apr (not Sun). 10am 5pm. Museum of Childhood. 42 High Street. 5294142.
Doodles and Tales Sun 25 Apr.
2 4pm. Free. Dean (iallery. 73 Belford Road. 624 6200. Ages 5—9 and families. Artists Juliana Capes and Jennie Temple with storyteller Senga Munro bring paintings alive with lots of fun activities.
childhood taken between 1860 and 1960.
Film
Winged Migration (U). Thu 22 Apr.
10.30am. £2.50. The Big Scream:
special screening for parents and babies. The Cameo Cinema. 38 Home Street. 228 4141. See Film Index.
Outside the Cities
Activities And Fun Children’s Craft Classes £4.
, Paisley Arts Centre. New Street. Paisley.
887 1010. Weekly craft classes for 6—1 l-year-olds exploring drawing. painting. clay modelling and jewellery making. Booking essential.
Easter Activities Until Fri 16 Apr. 1 lam—4.30pm. Clyde Muirshiel Regional Park. Castle Semple Centre.
Lochlip Road. Lochwinnoeh. 01505
842882. Boats and bikes available to hire to explore the beautiful grounds of Clyde Muirshiel Park. plus various outdoor activity courses.
Easter Break Activities - Colour Up! Thu 15 Apr. 10.30am—12.30pm. £3. Dundee
j Contemporary Arts. 152 Nethergate.
Dundee. 01382 909900. Local artists help you create artworks using colour in
different ways.
Easter Eggcitement Until Sun 18 Apr. Thu—Sat 10am—1pm; 2—5pm. Free. Coats Observatory. 49 Oakshaw Street
7 West. Paisley. 889 2013. Easter egg
hunts throughout the mUseum with trails and prizes to be won.
. Easter Eggcitement Until Sun 18
Apr. Thu—Sat 10am—5pm; Sun 2—4pm. Free. Paisley Museum & Art Gallery. High Street. Paisley. 889 3151. See above.
Outdoor Activities Open Day Sun 18 Apr. Ham—3.30pm. £2. Clyde Muirshiel Regional Park. Castle Semple Centre. l.och1ip Road. Lochwinnoch. ()1505 842882. A chance to try out a whole range of activities and find out about some of the clubs that operate at Castle Semple.
Country Craft Day Sun 18 Apr.
1 lam—4.30pm. Clyde Muirshiel
Regional Park. Cornalees Centre. Loch
Thom. Nr lnverkip. 01475 521458. A day out for all the family with countryside craft demonstrations.
children‘s entertainers and woodland walks.
Theatre & Dance
Oetsie Poetsie Thu 15 Apr. 2pm. £4 (£2—£3). MacRobert. University of Stirling. Stirling. 01786 466666. Ages 4+. Belgian puppet company Vlinders & Co present an anarchic. silly and slapstick show based on a cleaning trolley which comes to life.
Each Peach, Pear, Plumb Sat 17 Apr. 1 Iain. £3.50. MacRobert. University of Stirling. Stirling. 01786 466666. Ages 3—7. Edinburgh‘s Puppet Lab presents a puppet adaptation of
; Janet and Allan Ahlberg‘s classic
rhytning story. Isidor’s Cheek Sat 17 Apr. 1pm. £4 (£2.50). Paisley Arts Centre. New
Street. Paisley. 887 1010. Ages 5+. Leading American puppet company
Sandglass Theater tell a touching story
of a man who tnust leave his grey existence and embrace colour and life.
Rumplestiltskin at the Fairytale Laundry Sat 17 Apr. 2pm. £2.50 (£1.50). Musselburgh Sports Centre. Newbigging. Musselburgh. 653 6367. The tale of the creepy little dwarf who blacktnails the lovely miller‘s
. daughter but eventually comes good all
told by Ailie Cohen and her array of puppets. in an laundry. Rumplestiltskin at the Fairytale Laundry Sun 18 Apr.
1 lam. £3.50. MacRobert. University of Stirling. Stirling. 01786 466666. See
above.
Wee Witches Sat 24 Apr. 1 1am & 2pm. £3.50. MacRobert. University of
Stirling. Stirling. ()1786 466666. See Glasgow and photo caption.