Why Family Theatre is Winning This Half Term

I make no bones about my love of theatre, I love taking the kids and sometimes watch them and their reactions as much as the actual show. Theatre is such an amazing experience and I feel privileged to be able to share it with my kids

But this half term there really is so much choice across my favourite North East venues

The Customs House have Wendy the Witch and the Long Lost Spell running from Monday, October 23, to Wednesday, October 25, with shows at 2pm. Tickets, priced £7.50. Will Wendy escape the Goblin Kings Curse ? The Customs House also have Harry Panto and the Chamber Pot of Secrets on Thursday, October 26, at 1.30pm and 6pm and There will also be Halloween-themed crafts in the October Half Term Mini and Mega Maker Arty Spooktacular on Monday, October 23. Children aged 11 and under will create squashed toads, paper pumpkins and monster puppets between 11am and 2pm, while children aged 11 to 13 will tackle a different creepy creative challenge between 2pm and 4pm. The cost is £2 per child and grown-ups are required to stay with their children for the Mini Makers session between 11am and 2pm, while Mega Makers, between 2pm and 4pm, is a grown-up free zone

Tyne Theatre and Opera House have the ever popular Liz Pichon and The Tom Gates Brilliant Bands Tour on Friday at 1pm, Join Liz as she presents TOM GATES BRILLIANT BANDS AND DOODLE LIVE TOUR, a hugely fun-packed & INTERACTIVE monster drawing event with live music! Bring a pencil and paper, learn to doodle just like Tom and hear DUDE3 Tom’s FAVOURITE band in the whole WIDE world play some excellent tunes. There’s stories and music and a chance to meet Liz and the band after the show

Northern Stage Have loads of shows to choose from but our top pick its the beautiful BalletLORENT's Rumpelstiltskin. BalletLORENT have a truly special place in my heart, my biggest babies experienced their first ever ballet with this company and it was a most magical performance (search youtube for 'BalletLorent Underneath the Floorboards'). You definitely will not regret choosing to take your family to one of their performances

And last but by no means least

Alphabetti Theatre have 'Walter' Showing between 24th October and 3rd November (check venue for times) £8 er ticket A play with people and shadows written by Steve Byron & directed by Ali Pritchard Leaving his wife Rosie and daughter Ivy behind on Tyneside, Bob enlists with the 9th Battalion, Northumberland Fusiliers. After a short training he is posted to the front lines of the Western Front. Walter, Bob’s precious champion homing pigeon travels with him.Bob soon witnesses the true horror of war culminating in a big push over the top into a bloody battle over territory. After a fierce fire fight lasting for days, Bob becomes pinned down, injured and with little chance of rescue. It is up to Walter to carry an important message across the trenches and the battlefields, above the mud, blood and across the waters.
Embarking on an “adventure to end all adventures”, Walter must face dangers at every turn, but with bravery and determination to fulfil his master’s one final wish.

So these are our Theatrical choices for half term which do you fancy?

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.

Big Red Bath from Half Moon Theatre on Vimeo.

 

 

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Little Red Riding Hood at The Customs House

I've seen every Panto at The Customs House between 1997 - 2012! I'll be honest I didn't enjoy the last one as much as previous years and so we didn't book again for 2013 but I took the chance on some special offer tickets this week to see Little Red Riding a Hood.

Arrival and ticket collection was smooth and easy, the car park has plenty of free spaces and there's a good selection of sweets snacks and drinks available in the bar.

Now having seen so many of Mr Spencer's panto's I could probably tell you most of the jokes and I think I definitely know all of the community songs (that's the one at the end that everyone joins in with). But this year I've laughed out loud (always a good sign) and even gasped at some of the jokes aimed at the grown ups! The kids have giggled and most everyone in the audience seemed to be having fun. This year of course see's the return of Ray Spencer not in his previous role of Tommy but as Dame Hood. He's still as funny and watching him sing 'All about the bass' with a Geordie twist was hilarious. Joined by daughter Natasha as Red there's a certain gigglesome air between them at points which is nice to see and the partnership with Timber (Craig Richardson) works well. There is a hint (probably intentional) of the old Tommy character about Craig and his facial expressions are very funny.

We Loved

Peanut loved the frozen songs, obviously! The golden child loved shouting 'he's behind you' in fact he was so absorbed that at one point he was the only one in the audience warning Red about the wolf!

The sets are fun and beautifully painted and the costumes are amazing, Dame Hood's are hilarious and Bracken and Wolfgang'sare brilliantly  sumptuous and over the top.

They both loved the community song and obviously the traditional 'oh yes we did' 'oh no you didn't' parts.

I thought performances from Bracken (Jamie Birkett) and Wolfgang (Steven Lee Hamilton) were great! Bracken's voice especially was a surprising delight, not a warble to be heard during 'let it go' and how she manages an entire perfomance in those sky high-thigh highs is beyond me!

The jokes for grown ups were funny and passed straight over the little people heads (rightly so) but they chuckled anyway, carried along by the happy laughter of the grown ups.

Room For Improvement

For me the first half could do with being about 20 minutes shorter, there was a lot little people shuffling and mumbling which I think is always a good indication the younger audience have passed their need for a break.

The Golden Child did not love the scene when Granny gets got by the wolf and as a parent I think it was very cleverly done, but a little scary.

Totally unrelated to the show but I think worth a mention if you are planning a visit... The Customs House lock the back entrance (the one nearest the car park) On an evening so you need to walk all around the building and down the car park feeder road on your way back to the car. So keep this in mind if like me you decide that as its only 30 seconds from car to back door, you can leave your coats in the car so as not to take up space in your seats! It was a chilly walk back round. Maybe park closer to the front if you go.

***update*** The lovely Customs House have been in touch to explain these doors are closed to minimise noise to nearby residents. Which totally makes sense and is really rather considerate!

Overall a lovely end of school holiday treat most definitely 'the little Panto with the big heart' and we will absolutely give it another chance next year. If you've not yet seen it there are shows until 10 January you can book here or call 0191 4541234. You can connect with The Customs House on Facebook and Twitter

Cast List For Little Red Riding Hood

Natasha Haws: Red

Ray Spencer: Granny Hood

Steven Lee Hamilton: Wolfgang

Jamie Birkett: Bracken

Jamie Brown: Prince Chop-a-lot

Craig Richardson: Timber

Stephen Sullivan: Mr Fracker

Luke Maddison: Saveloy

Gareth Hunter: Bratwurst

Kylie Ann Ford: Chorizo

 

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