Expect thrills, spills and a really stinky dog in this wonderfully vintage circus show that will leave the kids beaming.Summary
Rating
Excellent
Roll up, roll up! The circus has come to town! And it’s not your everyday circus: this is Little Angel Theatre’s Miniature Travelling Circus. As the children are welcomed in and the lights go down, fairground music fills the room and there’s excitement in the air.
Our ringmaster for the day is the amazing Lizzie Wort who indeed gives a masterful performance throughout. Her smile lights up the room as she tells the tale of how the circus changed from a great big enterprise to a small but beautifully formed one. She’s an excellent storyteller, and her tale is illustrated wonderfully using a clever book, designed by Vicki Fullick, that folds out to act as a model theatre where lions, tigers and elephants are animated in small-scale. The tale provides a perfect opportunity to gently point out why wild animals aren’t kept as captive performers any more, and leads us into the world of the current circus. Here it’s fleas, mice, bunnies, a cat and a dog that take to the stage for the fun of it. The theme of caring continues when we find out Flop the Bunny has gone missing ahead of her star performance and with the help of the audience the team set out to look for her, in the process learning why she’s hiding away.
There’s a lovely vintage feel to this production: it’s really good old-fashioned family fun – traditional entertainment with touches of music hall and magic that asks the children to believe anything can happen. Wort is a talented performer, offering lively songs, tricks and puppetry throughout. She introduces a whole cast of performing creatures including a menagerie of invisible fleas and acrobatic mice, all the while keeping the young audience totally enthralled. There are some great opportunities for volunteers to come on stage and be part of the event, but mostly the audience has fun joining in with drumrolls, casting spells and laughing at Lyndie Wright’s adorable puppets, which are filled with character and charisma. Who can’t help but love the cute little bunnies as they cheekily pop their heads up, causing the children to shriek with delight, or the wonderful Smelly Dog who may be very stinky (more shrieking of a slightly different kind prompted here!) but is key to saving the day.
The show is beautifully designed by Miranda Pitcher, the set and costumes bursting with rich, theatrical colours. And Sherry Coenen’s distinctive lighting design works perfectly alongside Julian Butler’s fun, festive music to bring additional drama and excitement to the thrills of the circus tent.
At only 40 minutes long, the Miniature Travelling Circus brings so much to enjoy, with Wort literally pulling surprises out of her hat to make the children beam with delight. It’s a perfect package of theatrical fun for little ones.
Written & devised by Miranda Pitcher & Lizzie Wort
Directed by Miranda Pitcher
Puppets designed by Lyndie Wright
Book designed by Vicki Fullick
Lighting design by Sherry Coenen
Music & Sound design by Julian Butler
Set & Costume design by Miranda Pitcher
Little Angel Theatre’s Miniature Travelling Circus is aimed at ages 2-5 years and runs at Little Angel Theatre (Dagmar Passage) until Saturday 19 April.
