list.co.uk/kids Previews | KIDS
PRE-SCHOOL CLOWNING CBEEBIES LIVE: JUSTIN AND FRIENDS SSE Hydro, Glasgow, Sat 11 Apr FESTIVAL PUPPET ANIMATION FESTIVAL Various venues, Scotland, until Sat 18 Apr
Within months of having your first child it’s inevitable that Justin Fletcher will feel like he’s always lived in your home, so ubiquitous is the multi-talented host of several shows on kids channel CBeebies. A character comedian, voice artist and qualified clown whose dad used to
write songs for Elvis Presley, his repertoire currently includes sketch show Gigglebiz, sugar-crazed live slapstick show Justin’s House and Something Special, home of his clowning Mr Tumble character and revolutionary in its use of Makaton sign language.
Having already toured Justin’s House as a live arena show, this follow-up’s
theme – ‘Mr Tumble’s Circus’ – is an attempt to get his most well-known creation more involved.
‘I went to the circus many times as a child,’ says Fletcher, ‘and what I vividly remember is the clown car collapsing and a big water cannon spraying the audience with bubbles – wow! Now I have my own clown car that we’re going to use in this show, along with speciality acts like juggling and balancing – and clowning. It wouldn’t be a circus if it wasn’t for the clowns.’
It also wouldn’t be a CBeebies show without a kid-friendly repertoire of
special guests, so expect to see dinosaur hunter Andy Day, Gemma Hunt of the pirate-themed Swashbuckle and continuity presenter Cat Sandion, as well as Justin’s House regulars Robert the Robot and Little Monster. (David Pollock)
From Bunraku wise men to Shakespearean marionettes, puppets have been enjoying a huge renaissance in UK theatre. But you could say that the Puppet Animation Festival is well ahead of the curve, having hosted 30 annual celebrations of this art form since 1984. Led by artistic director Simon Hart, the festival will take to 68 venues across
Scotland and the north of England, filling the Easter holidays with animals, monsters and book characters created from cloth, wood and paper. ‘Our Puppet Animation Festival is very much providing a showcase for the varied work created by puppeteers in the UK,’ says Hart. ‘I think a good puppetry piece enables its audience – both children and adults – to believe that characters made from inanimate material can be brought to life. This willing suspension of disbelief allows all of us to engage again with our imaginations, something which we all recognise from our own childhoods.’ Hart’s top tips for Scotland’s programme include retro big top Celeste’s
Circus (pictured), Little Princess Goldtree (a version of the Snow White story) and Family Treats, an international programme of short films. ‘For the first time,’ he says, ‘we have put together this programme of films from around the world, most of which have been created in the past two years, so this is a brilliant way to see a whole area of work for children which does not tend to get a great deal of media coverage.’ (Lucy Ribchester)
MUSICAL SHREK THE MUSICAL King’s Theatre, Glasgow, Wed 29 Apr–Sun 17 May
Quick changes are a part of life in the theatre, but anyone who has seen the first Shrek film will know that Fiona’s transformation from traditional beauty to green ogre is far from subtle. ‘It takes 90 seconds and it’s awful,’ laughs Faye Brooks, who plays Fiona in the UK tour of Shrek the Musical. ‘I put on the same dress but it’s padded, the make-up artist transforms me with ogre ears and green paint, I pull on a green cowl and fat hands and then, eureka, I’m back on stage again.’
Brooks describes it as 90 seconds of madness for both
herself and her entourage. ‘But I honestly love the fact that I’ve worked my way through the story to that point,’ she continues. ‘Fiona has a constant fear of being found out and can’t show her true colours, because she thinks that she’s not beautiful. But by the end, she’s been through so much, the transformation makes sense, and it shocks people in the right way.’ The actor playing Shrek, on the other hand, has two hours
of make-up before every show, eating daintily between matinees and evening performances so as not to crack the silicone. It’s all part of the challenge to bring the 2001 film alive authentically on stage and then add another layer of entertainment. It's a strategy that has worked for audiences on Broadway, the West End and now across the UK.
‘We respect the film, and how children and adults are taken away by this fairytale,’ says Brooks. ‘But then the live songs give it a little bit extra. Audiences are familiar with the story, but when you see it in a theatre, it’s as if you’re a part of the whole production, and it really takes you there. With a film you can hit pause or switch it off; with this, it’s non-stop in your face. And in the show nothing is done by halves: it’s all big.’ (Kelly Apter)
2 Apr–4 Jun 2015 THE LIST 85