Review: Let’s Build, Polka Theatre

Polka Theatre’s revival of their 2023 production, Let’s Build, is a joyful, uplifting and gently interactive show for 2-5s. We meet Maude (Stasha Dukic) and Pinch (Kalungi Ssebandeke), two children (maybe siblings or cousins, or maybe just two friends, it doesn’t matter), who over an action packed 40 minutes invent stories and create imaginative structures to take us to a whole series of amazing places. 

Designer Verity Quinn creates a deceptively simple and considered play space of neutral hues peppered with an occasional splash of colour, where the magic is that everything we see is made out of a gorgeous bounty of everyday items. These cascade out of boxes, drawers and baskets that the children find strewn around their home. We may initially see cardboard tubes, pieces of cloth, boxes or tubing, but within moments the young audience totally believe what they see is more than that, as we are treated to an underwater world with fish, an octopus and a playful mermaid, a moonscape that shifts into a complete solar system and a most enchanting elephant trudging across the African savannah. The children gasp in awe and excitement, laughing out loud, gazing in total disbelief – so desperately wanting to join in themselves. Be warned adults, you may at this point need to hold your little ones back, but rest assured you will be both invited to play and create your own structures once the performance comes to an end.

The whole experience is subtly framed by Arun Ghosh’s upbeat, refreshingly contemporary and provocative soundscape, which complements the half-verbal/half-gobbledegook language of the performers. What is particularly affecting is the inclusion of a series of words from community languages, emphasising the universality of play in all communities. 

The talent of any director is bringing together the ensemble. Director Trina Haldar gives us two captivating performers who, with a gentle reference to clowning, move with such playful ease that you almost forget they aren’t children. They bring an authenticity and warmth that makes you feel their upset and frustrations with each other, as well as excitement as they carve out their playful world. A highlight must be the sequence when they plant and nurture a seed into a healthy plant that grows into a juicy plum: a plum they are not so keen to share with each other. Adults in the room chuckled at that point.

Let’s Build is so much more than just a show about the joys of discovery and the value of learning through play and imaginative experimentation – which it is, of course: it is also a deeply considered and inclusive piece of theatre that anyone over two can really enjoy. Why do parents feel pressured into buying expensive toys, when a paper cup and cardboard tube can give so many hours of fun?

Directed by: Trina Haldar
Design by: Verity Quinn
Lighting Design by: Rajiv Pattani
Composer & Sound Design by: Arun Ghosh
A Polka Theatre Production (Originally a Mapping co-production with Polka.)

Let’s Build is recommended for ages 2-5 year and runs at Polka Theatre until Sunday 29 June.