Thursday 02 July 2009
Room On The Broom: A Classic Tale Retold For Thoroughly Modern Children
Try putting an old episode of 'Trumpton' on the DVD player, after you and your kids have watched some modern TV programmes. It looks, and seems, slow, very slow, not very much happens, and it's almost boring.
Why? Well simply put, the duration of scenes in modern children's TV can be less than 10% of what they were in the early 1970's. It"s all fast and furious, full of CGI and flashing lights.
It seems more exciting; but in reality it's just faster.
They thinks it's all kids can handle and so, in a grim self fulfilling prophecy that stores up all kinds of attention span trouble for the future, they keep on increasing the speed again and again.
Thank God, then, for the likes of the Tall Stories Theatre Company, a shining beacon in the grim product-placement forest of modern children's entertainment.
Their adaptation of Julia Donaldson's brilliant and wonderful "Room on the Broom" (Pavilion Theatre, 27th June) was a master-class in how to put on top quality children's entertainment.
It was sold out, and no wonder.
As the children are sitting down (extra early thanks to somebody-with-no-kids' idea to make this an unreserved seating performance – thanks mate we all love waiting an extra 20 mins with our kids before for the performance to start just to get a good seat!!) the actors walk about making jokes and chatting informally to the children, top stuff.
Next they adapt and in many cases really add something to (rather than just pad out) what is already something of a classic for many kids.
As a witch makes her journey across the sky on her broom, she collects more and more new friends who all say "Is there room on the broom?" The cast fill this story with new jokes and lots of slapstick fun.
In addition they succeeded in captivating the entire audience for the entire hour that the performance lasted. You can't really do better than that.
The cast were great, but top marks to Morag Cross whose Witch was the cornerstone of the performance.
My son, Joe, who is nearly four, and I loved the whole thing. He said it was "fantastic," and he is not wrong.
I certainly hope that the Tall Stories Theatre Company come back to Brighton soon with this or any of their other adaptations, if they do then anyone with kids should take them along, you will not be disappointed.
So kids do not need faster and faster scene changes, they just need quality production values and a few decent jokes.
But I think we all knew that anyway, didn't we?
by: Howard Young (Theatre Editor)
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Tall Stories Theatre Company: Room On The Broom
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