At the Sherman |
| Sherman Theatre Company and The Theatre Centre- One Dark Night , Sherman Theatre , October 8, 2004 |
| This was a preview performance of this “magical adventure for the very young (and their shadows)” it’s quite a complex technical show and needed this first tryout before a very live young audience.It’s aimed at early years primary School children. This is more an account of what I saw and the impression I had of it rather than a ‘definitive’ review. There’s a well-known phrase ‘never act with children or animals’. Here there was a child that stole the show, a totally engaging puppet under the expert devising and direction of Sean Myatt. We follow the story of the ‘lively’ young child, in its bright shiny red jacket through a day and a night in its life and explore its relationship with its shadow. There doesn’t seem to me to be enough story. It’s a simple factual account of the child’s progress to school in the morning, home again, then an amusing, simple dream sequence with swirling colourful silks and the fingernail moon turning through forty five degrees to form a smile and the face of red jacket’s giant shadow hovering over its bed. It seems more documentary than magical story. From such a wonderful writer of children’s drama as the award winning Mike Kenny I would have liked to have seen, just a touch, maybe, of really engaging fantasy. From the talented actors, Lynette Clarke, Glen Hill, Ceris Jones and Lucy Rivers I would like to have seen a stronger connection with the young audience. When voicing the puppet it’s fine, but it’s not necessary to talk like small children simply because they make up the bulk of the audience. They all work extremely effectively and I am sure that now things are underway they will feel secure in their roles and give to them the full force of their talent. Paula Gardiner has created some interesting voice music but as she is “known as one of Wales’ leading jazz musicians”, I felt it might have been a little livelier Before the play begins the cast, tentatively, engage with the audience, then as the story begins they hang up the white washing on the line, dressed in their white costumes, against a white back-ground and floor. This is to facilitate both front and back projection of the ‘villain’ of the piece, the child’s shadow. Under the white clothes they discover the child in its bright red coat and the child soon discovers its shadow. With carefully controlled lamps the shadow is made to grow until it is an enormously frightening size. The grown-ups try to explain the fear away. The programme tells us that, “Through music, drama, object and shadow puppetry, the play illuminates a small child’s big journey from fear to confidence; from standing alone in the playground at a new school to having the confidence to play with someone:” Well it does all end happily but I’m not sure that it totally succeeds on the way. Phil Clark, during his fourteen years as Artistic Director of the Sherman has created some wonderful and memorable children’s plays, many written by Mike Kenny. At this point in time this production has not made it into that top league but as I pointed out at the beginning this is a preview and I’m sure with just a little tweaking in will bring enormous delight to a great number of young children and to some a very happy introduction to the world of theatre. |
Reviewed by: Michael Kelligan |
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