30th October and here I am writing about my first Christmas show of the season and all I can say is that the bar is now pretty high for the rest of them. Although it is aimed at the younger audience – 4 years and up – it is probably the most grown up thing you will see for a while. It not only has a story, songs, dancing and comedy but also an educational value. The beauty of this being that it not only enlightens – see what I did there – about electricity, but also passes on a much more precious gift, that of life values and, as a bonus, common sense, two things which will get you further than any degree.
I was prepared to accept the probability that I would be the oldest person there, assuming that the mums and dads of 4 year-olds would be far younger than I, so I was pleasantly surprised that the majority of the guardians present seemed to be grand parents. My preparation had paid off, however, as I was still the senior member of the audience!
The show is a collaboration between two companies; Tutti Frutti and One Tenth Human, both of which specialise in creating shows for young children. They not only perform these in theatres and public venues, but also take them round schools, which can only be a good thing, because it will hopefully foster an interest in the theatre as well as educating through the production involved.
Filomina brought to life and looking suspiciously like Ray.
The Lightbulb Princess is the name given to Filomina, the decoration used to top the Christmas tree each year as she lights up when in place. Although being everybody’s favourite trimming, she turns out to be the villain of the piece when she comes to life. She is only concerned about getting lots of presents whilst ignoring the more altruistic aspects of the season.
The show opens with Ray instructing Ali, her brother and Kai, her little sister, to search for the Christmas tree and decorations so that they can surprise their mother when she gets home from visiting grandad in the hospital. He is very ill and they want to make it the best Christmas ever for her.
They all end up in grandad’s workshop, which is full of gadgets and gizmos, most of which are powered by electricity. Ray and Ali explain to Kai how it is generated, how to use it safely and, most importantly of all, to appreciate that it is a valuable resource and should not be wasted.
You’ve got to have a train set for Christmas, if you can kick the grown-ups off of it.
This could quite easily have turned into a party political broadcast on behalf of the Greens or an XR publicity stunt, but it was handled in a dispassionate and sensitive way, not in the least bit preachy. Every step in the various electric production methods, carefully explained, using props familiar to everyone present.
Because the shows are staged in small venues and schools, the audience participation was like nothing I had seen before. Yes, there was the clapping, seat-dancing and the pantomime style shouting. When Kai and Ali were looking for a spare bulb to replace one which had blown, lots of high pitched voices were screaming at them to look on the top of the cupboard where a box marked Spare Bulbs was situated. Oh yes it was! In addition to this, there was one-to-one banter where every child with their hand up was given the opportunity to contribute about their ideal present – unicorns seemed to be favourite – or festive meal, which covered everything from a roast dinner to a cheese sandwich.
Kai and Ali explaining the intricacies of gas turbines
Should you have children, grandchildren or great-grandchildren of the appropriate age, then I would highly recommend you ask them to take you along to one of the performances as the actors, Safia Bartley, Ciarán Walker and Adrien Spencer, were superb, especially in their connection with the ‘little people’ and the way in which they communicated some fairly complicated concepts, such as gas turbines, in a way even I could understand. Their energy and enthusiasm were boundless.
The Director was Sarah Punshon with music by Ziad Jabero, movement from Stuart Bowden and design by Amanda Mascarenhas with additional design by Delicia Sorhaindo. A special mention should also be made of the sound and light people whose timing had to be spot on to convey the special effects.
For details of the venues for the coming tour, some of which are in various parts of Yorkshire, please go to https://tutti-frutti.org.uk/tour-dates/ You will note that the school performances are obviously not open to the general public.
To learn more about Tutti Frutti it is https://tutti-frutti.org.uk/
For details of One Tenth Human go to https://onetenthhuman.com/
To see what is coming to Carriageworks click on https://www.carriageworkstheatre.co.uk/whats-on/
Feature image by Tutti Frutti and One Tenth Human, who also provided the photographs by Brian Slater
Tyke It To The Limit 