Everything Theatre Reviews, interviews and news for theatre lovers, London and beyond
LAT Children’s Puppet Festival
A mesmerisingly magical, slightly surreal adventure to space, with puppetry, circus, friendship and fun.Summary
Rating
Excellent
Fed up of taking the kids to the park and just watching TV this summer? Why not try something different and get along to the Little Angel Theatre‘s Children’s Puppet Festival, where Goofus Theatre invite us on a mesmerisingly magical, humorous and entertaining voyage to the moon!
Moonsmile is a strangely whimsical and gorgeously theatrical production that follows the adventure of a lonely caretaker who realises something is missing from his life. He finds himself setting off on a voyage of discovery that leads him to meet some peculiar moonlings, who remind him of the fun of play and friendship, and help him recover what he has lost.
This is a magical, slightly surreal, and visually intriguing steampunk world where clowning, mime, circus and puppetry come together with captivating music. The result is a playful and inviting experience for a young audience. The show is totally non-verbal but beautifully engaging, aimed at 5-11 year-olds, although on this occasion even the tinier siblings were completely absorbed in the performance, so it’s a great family trip.
From the start the audience is invited to be part of the caretaker’s world, as he brushes under the feet of the spectators and sits convivially with them before continuing his tasks. It’s a lovely feeling as the boundaries between the stage space and the watching children are blurred, making it easy for them to engage with the story. It also signals the caretaker’s need for friendship, which they are instantly keen to actively embrace, happily laughing along and commenting on his actions.
Paul Barnhill, Oliver Bishop and Gemma Bond work brilliantly together as a synchronised ensemble, creating multiple characters through puppetry and performance and making great use of the small space to build big worlds from minute details. There’s a mischievous touch of the carnivalesque as the rules of the everyday are discarded and the caretaker’s dull life is reinvented with circus performance, puppetry and possibility, including an impressive unicycle ride and clowning put centre stage. Puppetry is everywhere in the show, and the characterisation throughout is beautifully drawn with almost cartoon strokes that are visually clear and humorously appealing. There are friendly rats and badgers for the caretaker to talk to, who come with cheekily demanding but affable personalities. Characters sometimes appear from nowhere, perhaps in the form of a bendy tube, or even the tin parts that create a miniature spaceship. The tiny, travelling caretaker himself is a brilliant mini-me of our hero, duplicated to perfection. And you can’t help but love the marvellous masked moonlings, who add a whole other dimension of joyful playfulness and laughter to the adventure with their cheeky tickling and friendliness.
There are plenty of lovely interactions for children to enjoy in this show, with highlights including bouncing, inflatable planets and a dazzling cosmos of sparkling bubble stars that have the audience jumping out of their seats. Above all, it carefully creates an intimate, congenial space in which to imagine a world where friendship and kindness can be found through the enjoyment of imagination and theatre. The whole is a mesmerising delight for all ages, and a trip to Moonsmile will definitely bring a grin to your face this summer.
Directed by: Paul Barnhill
Puppets by: Oliver Bishop, Liz Walker, Gemma Bond
Music composed by: Maurice Mudd
Masks by: Pierre Filliez
Produced by: Jane Williams
Moonsmile is aimed at ages 5-11 and runs as part of The Little Angel Theatre’s Children’s Puppet Festival until 1 September. Further details and how to book can be found here.
