KIDS | Previews 66 THE LIST 5 Feb–2 Apr 2015
COMEDY SHOW FUNZ AND GAMEZ Tron Theatre, Glasgow, Sat 21 Mar
Just prior to last August’s Edinburgh Festival, Phil Ellis had little idea he was in possession of the Fringe’s sleeper hit. After a decade on the comedy circuit and with his 2013 Fringe show Unplanned Orphan getting a decidedly mixed reaction, there was no sense that 2014 would be his year. But then he chanced upon the idea of doing a kids' show that
was as much fun for adults as it was for the nippers, with its impossible-to-win games and grouchy participants. Fronted by Manchester-based Ellis and featuring Bonzo the Dog, Jim Elf and Uncle Mick, Funz and Gamez anarchically merged Vic ’n’ Bob’s Big Night Out with the sozzled antics of failed children’s entertainer Jeremy Lion.
‘In 2013, I started to notice there were loads of posters for kids' shows,’ recalls Ellis. ‘The majority of them were young actors in colourful jumpers blowing a kazoo and wearing a sock puppet, desperately trying to get on CBeebies. I thought: wouldn’t it be funny if the same idiot who’d brought up Unplanned Orphan did a kids' show in an obvious attempt to fast-track himself to stardom?’ The initial reaction from friends and colleagues was less
than positive, but being a ‘stubborn sod’, Ellis became even more determined to make it happen. All of which led to critical and peer acclaim, resulting in the ultimate accolade of the Edinburgh Comedy Award Panel Prize. It would be fair to say that the success of Funz and Gamez
has changed Ellis’ perspective on both himself and the comedy business. ‘I’d resigned myself to just being a skint comedian with a huge debt, working every night he could to pay his bills. Now, hopefully, I can explore different areas such as TV, touring and eventually becoming a massive pop sensation in Iceland.’ (Brian Donaldson) ■ See list.co.uk for a Q&A with Phil Ellis.
DANCE SHOW THE PINE TREE, POGGLE AND ME Brunton Theatre, Musselburgh, Thu 5 Feb, then touring
With little or no language, dynamic ever-changing movement, and interesting music, dance is tailor-made for young audiences. Having already created Tiger Tale for older children last year, choreographer Natasha Gilmore has turned her attention to pre-schoolers with her latest work, The Pine Tree, Poggle and Me. ‘I realised while I was making the show just how appropriate dance is for this age group, because their vocabulary is limited,’ says Gilmore. ‘The text we deliver is rhythmical, and the physical language helps children read different emotional states they can identify with – like when Poggle is bored or tired and lies on the floor with her chin in her hands and bum in the air – as well as enjoying the energy of the movement itself.’ The simple storyline features a character too fearful to climb trees, until Poggle, a magical forest creature, offers him help and encouragement. With live music, a set that transforms throughout, and opportunities for little ones to toddle on stage and join in, the show is perfectly pitched for one to four-year-olds – not least because Gilmore is in tune with her target audience . ‘I just based it on what I know about my own children,’ she says, ‘because they’re the right age. So the sense of humour in it is absolutely based on what my boys and their friends find funny.’ (Kelly Apter)
CLASSICAL CONCERT SIR SCALLYWAG AND THE GOLDEN UNDERPANTS Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh, Sat 14 Feb; City Hall, Glasgow, Sun 15 Feb
Finding ways to bring young children and classical music together can be a difficult task – but if anything’s going to make it easier, it’s a pair of underpants. Or more specifically, a golden pair – as worn in Giles Andreae’s popular picture book Sir Scallywag an d the Golden Underpants. Inspired by Andreae’s tale of a brave young knight who helps a bare-bottomed king get his underwear back, composer Paul Rissman has created an adventurous score, over which narrator Chris Jarvis (of CBeebies fame) reads the story.
‘Chris will teach fun songs and actions before the piece gets underway,’
explains Kirsteen Davidson Kelly of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, ‘so the whole audience can join in with him and the orchestra during the performance. The piece also features illustrated projections by Korky Paul, who will be joining us beforehand to help the audience make their own golden underpants.’
As Davidson Kelly says, finding ways to engage families with the orchestra is a key part of the SCO’s work. ‘It’s really important to us that as many children as possible have the chance to get to know our players and their instruments,’ she says, ‘and experience the excitement of hearing a top-class live orchestra in a relaxed setting.’ (Kelly Apter)