Philip Bosworth

REVIEW – Leaper – A Fish Tale (The Lowry Theatre, Salford)

kristobel1 Comment
Leaper - The Fish Tale by Tucked In Theatre Company
Leaper – The Fish Tale by Tucked In Theatre Company
Thingstars: 

It’s quite alarming to find out that around 90% of global fish stocks are over-exploited, fully exploited or in recovery from exploitation. In severely depleted areas, the only way to restore fish stock is by introducing protected reserves. However, considering a massive 72% of our planet is water and only 4% of this is currently protected, it becomes evident that without urgent measures we may be the last generation to catch food from the oceans.

It’s really important to educate the younger generation to care for their planet from an early age and Tucked In Theatre Company explore this idea through their production of Leaper – A Fish Tale. There are no blinding statistics or complicated language but charming puppetry, original music and a set with a wonderful hand-crafted quality. The energetic cast of three: Lizzie Franks, Philip Bosworth and Robert Welling tell the story of Leaper the fish and the beautiful but perilous ocean world that she inhabits.

Through the eyes of a little girl, we follow Leaper on her journey to encounter the ever growing natural and man-made dangers in our ocean. After accidentally falling into the water to retrieve her dropped prawn cocktail crisp packet, the little girl makes friends with Leaper as they explore the waterways together, travelling from the tiny stream to the vast ocean and back again.

The young audience were engrossed by Claire Harvey’s wonderful puppet design featuring a school of fish, a noisy duck and a formidable brown bear. Jim Harbourne’s warm and upbeat musical score provided continuity and familiarity for the little ones and Annie Brooks’ design had a real home-made appeal. However, there was a lot of story to cram into a short running time of 60 minutes and with frequent set changes, some of the sections felt rushed. The young members of the audience would certainly benefit from a slower pace which would give them time to reflect and understand.

Following our visit to watch Leaper – A Fish Tale,  Thing 2 was busting with questions about fish and our oceans, proving that theatre can be a powerful way to tap into a child’s understanding of the world and our environment. Tucked In theatre have to be applauded for their imaginative approach in tackling a complex subject and their ability to make it accessible to children. After all, our children are the future generation and the earlier we educate them about our planet – the brighter their future.

-Kristy Stott

 Leaper is showing next at the Blackwood Miners Institute in Caerphilly on the 30th April 2016 and at 96 Shenley Road in Borehamwood on the 2nd May 2016.

 

REVIEW – The BFG (Octagon Theatre, Bolton)

kristobel1 Comment
© Ian Tilton
© Ian Tilton
Upstaged Rating: 
Thingstars: 

Following the success of James and the Giant Peach, Director Sarah Esdaile returns to Bolton Octagon to direct another Roald Dahl classic. In this adaptation by David Wood, The BFG tells the magical story of a little girl called Sophie who lives in the village orphanage. One night, Sophie spies a huge cloaked figure blowing something into the bedroom window further down the street and before she can hide from this mysterious creature, she is picked up and taken to his home in Giant Country.

Luckily for Sophie this giant is the BFG, one of the good guys – friendly, entertaining and most importantly kind hearted. He goes around at night when people are asleep to make sure that they have good dreams.

Obviously, one of the most challenging demands of producing a stage show of The BFG is managing to create the illusion of scale and height between the giants and little Sophie. Clever puppetry directed and designed by Michael Fowkes works perfectly – a delicately animated smaller version of Sophie and a trio of three huge bone-crunching ogres certainly does the trick.

Janet Bird’s design sees the Octagon main stage set on two levels allowing swift movement between scenes and different settings from the orphanage where Sophie lives to the formidable Giant Country. The design has a wonderfully home crafted quality to it – the giants with their huge papier-mâché heads and the use of cardboard and newsprint throughout. With comical dream sequences and a visit to Buckingham Palace, the story is told effectively and in a way that children can follow with ease. From the BFG’s head appearing at the Queen’s bedroom window to making Facetime calls on a huge iPhone – the design elements are a highlight.

Macy Nyman makes a noteworthy stage debut as Sophie, beautifully expressive and childlike, providing a wonderful narration as she brings the puppet of Sophie to life.

John Seaward is instantly loveable as the BFG – full of energy, kindness and humour – with a full head of flaming orange hair, he looks considerably different to the familiar Quentin Blake drawings. Introducing Sophie to his wondrous imaginative language, where the words sound very similar to English or are completely made up – so beautifully typical of Roald Dahl.

The talented pyjama-clad double up to play a range of different characters – Richard Booth, Philip Bosworth and Roddy Peters as the booming, ruthless ogres; Sarah Finigan impresses as The Queen and the cantankerous Mrs Clonkers and Emma MacLennan also adapts to a number of roles demonstrating her versatility as a performer.

Recommended for ages 5 and over, this is a fantastic ensemble production with a lot of heart. The BFG at Bolton Octagon offers families a high-quality production and a pleasing alternative from the traditional Christmas pantomime.

-Kristy Stott

 The BFG runs at the Octagon Theatre in Bolton until 9 January 2016.