Mrs Monkeyfeet: children's theatre

Friday, 4 December 2015

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz at Northern Stage

You know already that we need little in the way of convincing to attend one of Northern Stage's productions and we are great fans of their Christmas show, last years Get Santa was the first 'big people' (7 and up) show that I had taken Peanut to see and we love love loved it. so when we were invited along to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz we said yes immediately

'Join Dorothy, Toto, Scarecrow, Tin Man and Lion this Christmas for a brand new re-twisted production of the classic children’s story. Expect magic, mayhem and new music in this festive treat for adventurers aged 7+ (and their families)'

And so we did indeed join them, this year we were a party of 2 adults a 5 and a 7 year old, I was nervous how The Golden Child at age 5 would find it all but Peanut has talked about this for months so I was sure she would be fine. I'm not a huge Oz fan so have only seen the movie a couple of times and my kids haven't seen it at all (sorry sorry I'm a bad mammy) but I did think this was a very brave choice on Northern Stages part, after all Wizard of Oz has a huge and devoted following of fans, so to create a 're twisted ' version of the story for the stage could have been a big risk.

I'm pleased to say it wasn't! The story doesnt follow the movie exactly but does stay mostly true to the original. There are new twists on old characters and also some new characters too. Tessa Parr plays Dorothy with a quirky edge and not a touch of gingham or 'girly' attire She does however portray kindness courage and encouragement for those in need. We loved Alice Blundell's healthy hippy version of Glinda and even more so her puppetteering of Winkie Slave. Carl Kennedy gave a perfectly humourous and witty ~~Tin Man,~~ I mean Nick Chopper

and Micheal Blair drew me in to his love struck Lion character very well indeed. With a very convincing sometimes funny and sometimes scary Wicked Witch, Zoe Lambert had the crowd suitably on edge especially towards the end.

There were points when my Golden Child was afraid, especially at the half tiger half bear creature sent by the Wicked Witch to stop Dorothy and her gang. The kids didn't quite get all the humour (But I don't think they were meant too)but they did laugh and cheer and enjoy the show. The army of mice were favourites with the kids but I have to say the humour of mice pulling mouse poo amunition from their pants was a little lost on me!

My favourite parts of the show were the amazingly clever sets and props, the beautifully designed costumes and the music!

Performed by Jeremy Bradfield (who also plays The Wizard) the music is all performed in a tiny cubible on stage and its amazing to watch him create fabulous tunes and sounds with many many instruments! The kids loved Winkie and honestly I think the grown ups all found him (it?) rather endearing too.

I could wax lyrial about all the things we loved, like the supporting parts cleverly performed by the ensemble, the funny lovely munchkins, the brilliant Direction from Mark Calvert but I don't want to give too much away. Let me tell you the show is cleverly written, brilliantly designed and performed fantastically. Its entertaining, scary, funny and uplifting all at once. Its great value for money and you should definitely go see it. The show runs until 2nd January 2016 with tickets starting at £14.50 And you can book tickets online or by calling the box office on 0191 2305151

Follow the Monkeyfooted Mummy

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

Posted with Blogsy by The Monkeyfooted Mummy

Thursday, 7 May 2015

Big Red Bath at Northern Stage

Today is one of those days I wish I had the courage to just say 'right were homeschooling' I've had a fab day with just Termite but I know my big kids would have loved to see this show.

Because today we went to one of my most favourite Theatres, Northern Stage (yes I'm a bit of a fan) to see. 'Big Red Bath'. A double treat for us as we also got to spend the afternoon with Sam from the very brilliant North East Family Fun (find out what she though of the show here.)

Here's what the brochure said about Big Red Bath

"It’s the end of a busy day and it is almost time for bed, and Ben and Bella are in the bath.

Splish! Splosh! Splash! Bubbles burst and bubbles rise and a frothy feast of animals jump right in to join in the fun. Come with us on a bubbly, barmy bath time adventure around the world and home again celebrating all things bath time.

Adapted from Julia Jarman’s popular children’s picture book, this quirky, vibrant and humorous tale for 2-5 year olds features music by We Were Evergreen, an alternative indie-electro-pop trio who bring a blend of folk melodies, electro beats and vocal harmonies.

Big Red Bath is an exciting collaboration between Full House Theatre and Half Moon that will appeal to families as it blends music, song and humorous character based performances in a unique new take on this well-loved book."

It sounded irresistible, especially as our Tetmite loves Bath time so we packed our snacks put on our best frock (termite not me, I'm firmly in my mummy uniform) and trundled off.

Sitting in the auditorium waiting for the show to start is always one of my favourite times, the children are so excited and eager and there's such a lovely buzz about Northern Stage.

The set was quite compact but brightly coloured and pleasant to look at. Then the lights went down (like really really dark) and suddenly the fun began!

Do you have any idea what goes on when Mum and Dad aren't in the bathroom? Ben and Bella's bath time is gate crashed in a sploshtastic fashion by a dog, a lion, a duck, a turtle, a hippo, a giraffe and a penguin!

The animals are created using either the bath time props, think sponges toilet seats etc, or by the actors in costumes which if you look carefull have some ingenious inclusion of bathroom essentials. Lions mane is a bunch of flannels, his ears are hair donuts, soap on a rope for a medallion and a bath lilly to finish off his tail!

The soundtrack is catchy (I'd actually love to get my hands on a copy) and had the audience jigging along, and not just the children! With a running time of 40 minutes it's pitchedperfectly for little people and the audience was kept engaged throughout. Our little people today were 3 and 1.5 and each seemed to enjoy it as much as the other. My absolute favourite was the Lion but Termite seemed to love watching the bath fly off into space and be showered with bubbles. We even managed a sneaky splash in the bath too.

This is a perfect show to bring your little people to, just the right mix of music, dance, storytelling and entertainment. You should definitely give it a shot if your kids are 6 or under.

When I got home and told the big kids that I'd been to see the Big Red Bath, they both excitedly told me that they know the story and then named all the animals! That's when I knew we should have played hooky and all gone together!

Big Red Bath runs until Saturday and if you are quick you may still get tickets (priced at £8.50 and £6.50 ) on the website or by calling box office on 0191 2305151 and if you want a sneaky peak check out this video.