December 13, 2010
The Burton Taylor studio has been turned into an upstairs bathroom where we can all play games such as singing, ‘Row, row, row your boat’ with all of the actions, thanks to Vicky Andrews' convincing set design. Reaction to the show amongst the under 5's is enthusiastic, and a gleeful audience appears to give their early encounter of close up theatre the thumbs up. Clowning around on stage is a charming pair of actors, namely John McGrellis and Matt Christian Reed who wear special woolly bathing hats and silly stripy bathing suits. Toby Hulse has devised, created and directed this fifty-minute gem of a show that proves bath time can be full of fun.
John and Matt play a game of Plumbers on stage as things start to go awry and offer characters that are quirky, offbeat and engaging. Children feel instantly at ease with the pair and one tiny tot offers a yellow duck to our new friends to keep their blue duck Ernie company. The only sad moment is when we realise Ernie truly is alone as the only blue duck in the bath tub unless some magic can be worked to find him a friend. Luckily Santa has left some musical instruments to help us sing a magic spell. John and Matt incorporate audience responses into the spell and some of the suggestions come from those who are sitting crossed legged right under their noses.
Credit should be given to the magic worked behind the scenes by Production Manager Tim Boyd and Stage Manager Abby Reeves for delivering a seamless stream of story telling through simple props. That this much fun can be created from a handful of bathing bubbles is wizard!
John and Matt play a game of Plumbers on stage as things start to go awry and offer characters that are quirky, offbeat and engaging. Children feel instantly at ease with the pair and one tiny tot offers a yellow duck to our new friends to keep their blue duck Ernie company. The only sad moment is when we realise Ernie truly is alone as the only blue duck in the bath tub unless some magic can be worked to find him a friend. Luckily Santa has left some musical instruments to help us sing a magic spell. John and Matt incorporate audience responses into the spell and some of the suggestions come from those who are sitting crossed legged right under their noses.
Credit should be given to the magic worked behind the scenes by Production Manager Tim Boyd and Stage Manager Abby Reeves for delivering a seamless stream of story telling through simple props. That this much fun can be created from a handful of bathing bubbles is wizard!