CHILDREN’S THEATRE
By Glenn
Elston with music by Paul Norton, Australian Shakespeare Company
At
Athenaeum 2, until Jan 28, 2018
Reviewer: Kate Herbert
Stars: ***1/2
Reviewer: Kate Herbert
Stars: ***1/2
Review also published in Herald Sun Arts online on Fri Jan 5, 2018 & in print on Tues Jan 9, 2018. KH
Lauren Ferreira as Tinkerbell 2018 - pic Nicole Cleary |
Little kids love fairies and magical adventures, so Glenn Elston merging Tinkerbell
from Peter Pan with the Fairies from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream is
an inspired idea for a children’s show.
Previously, these free-spirited Fairies frolicked in the Botanical
Gardens, but this season they are indoors on a stage decorated like a fairy
garden, and the children participate in the Fairies’ dancing, singing and
games.
Although some are shy at first, the children get into the spirit with
gentle encouragement from Tinkerbell (played with strength and grace by Lauren
Ferreira) and the Dream Fairies: Moth (Sue-Ellen Shook), Mustardseed (James
Coley), Peasblossom (Tess Branchflower), Cobweb (Cierra Shook) and Cupcake, the
MC (Coleman Shook).
The story is simple: the
lost Dream Fairies try to find their way back to Dreamland and their Fairy
Queen, while Tinkerbell searches for her lost fairy wings.
On their journey, the
Fairies perform perky choreography (Sue-Ellen
Shook) and sing cheery songs (Paul Norton) about getting lost, journeying
and the origin of fairies, while the children clap along, mimic gestures, flap
their wings and wave their wands.
In one charming tune, the
Fairies sing, ‘Come with us and find a happy place’, while the achingly cute children
dance along. Later, the kids make animal noises during a bouncy, percussive song
with the alliterative lyrics, ‘Boombakka Boom Boom Boom’.
By chanting ‘a twinkle
and a twinkle and a clap of the hands’, we are transported to Bubble Land where
the soap bubble machine is a huge hit with young and old alike.
After the children wave
their wands furiously, do star jumps and wish like mad, Tinkerbell’s wings
magically reappear and are reattached in a ceremony conducted by a sturdy and
adorable toddler called Jasper.
Adults may recognise lines from Peter Pan and Shakespeare, but Tinkerbell
and the Dream Fairies is a vivacious, effervescent show designed for small children.
By Kate Herbert
(L-R) Sue-Ellen Shook, Tess Branchflower, James Coley, Lauren Ferreira, Cierra Shook- 2018 pic Nicole Cleary |
Audience at Tinkerbell |
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