KIDS LISTINGS
I EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL SCIENCE FESTIVAL Fri 29 Mar-Tue 16 Apr. Various venues across Edinburgh. Ticket information: 0131 220 6220. It’s stardate 29.03.96, and Edinburgh’s annual out-of-this-world science extravaganza is back with a bang (or two or three). Workshops, lectures, displays and hands-on demos for boffins and non-boffins of all ages on a host of weird, wacky and wonderful science-related themes. See special Science Festival section for more details.
Even when it’s cold and shivery outside, our at-a-glance guide will see you through. Events are listed under Glasgow and Edinburgh columns, and then diyided by type of event. Kids listings compiled by Ellie Carr.
Activities And Fun
I National Science Week Princes Square. Buchanan Street. Until Sat 23 Mar. Glasgow explodes into a UK-wide week of science. engineering and technology.
In The Courtyard Until Fri 22 Mar. loam—noon daily; Mon/Tue. Thurs l—3pm; Wed/Fri l—2.30pm. Let your mind do the boggling. as _jlllll()l' whiz].- kids from various Strathclyde schools share their scientific findings in a series of demonstrations titled ‘Yoghurts. Helicopters and Electricity". From robotics. to rockets. to simple household alarms.
Music
I Fortissimo Finale! The Glasgow Royal Concert Hall. 2 Sauchiehall Street. 353 4131. Ticketlink: 227 55l. Sat 23 Mar. 2pm. £7 (£3.50); family ticket £ 18. The popular Classical Concerts For Children series comes to an ear-busting end with the RSNO playing a mixed bill of tunes to include Tchaikovsky. Fucik and Rimsky Korsakov.
Theatre
I Hidden Lands Paisley Art Centre. New Street. 887 1010. Tue - Apr. 7pm. £4 (£1). .Ages 8 and over. Visible Fictions Theatre Company team Up with Denmark‘s Blue Horse Theatre in a dreamy tale of magical joumeys to mysterious shrouded lands.
I Hidden lands Cottier Theatre.
Hyndland Street. 357 3868. 'l'icketlink: 227 5511. Thurs 4—Sat () Apr. 11am: 2.30pm. £2.50 (£1.50). See above.
I Travelling By Tuba Collier Theatre. Hyndland Street. 357 38(i8.'l‘icket1ink: 227 5511. Sat 23 Mar. l lam. £2.50 (£1.50). Ages 6—12. A voyage of musical discovery tracing the history of the tuba through the didgeridoo. conch shell and Viking horn to the sophisticated instrument we know today.
I Bike Cottier Theatre. llyndland Street. 357 3868. Ticketlink: 227 5511. Sat 30 Mar. 1 lam. £2.50 (£1.50). Ages 3—(). Leeds-based company Axis get their spokes in a twist in this theatre-dance show about a bike journey.
I Cheeko The Clown Paisley Arts Centre. New Street. 887 1010. Sat 30 Mar. 1pm. £2 (£1). Classic clowning of the red nose and big banana feet variety from top children's entertainer Cheeko.
Activities And Fun
I Edinburgh’s Youth Caitherin Teviol House. Bristo Square. Booking/ information: Carol Stobie/Sheila Capewell 337 5442. Mon l—Thurs 4 Apr. Four-day ticket: £20. Ages 9-18. A four- day long furore of music. song and dance for younger folkies to coincide with this year's lidinburgh Folk Festival. Young practising musicians lead taster sessions and workshops for everyone from absolute beginners to ti/it'iunmlus. and everyone gets together fora big shindig of a ceilidh on the last night.
I The Kid’s Sunday Brunch Club Waverley Shopping Centre. Princes Street. 557 375‘). livery Sun from 31 Mar. Noon—2pm. Free. Ages 3—10. A crafty kind of Sunday club for kids. with a different creative theme every fortnight. This week is science week. and to celebrate the launch of the Edinburgh
International Science Festival. the Brunch Club is rocketing into the weekend with a chance to make your own model spaceships.
Exhibitions
I lluest For A Pirate City Art Centre. 2 Market Street. 52‘) 3993. Until Sun 12 May. Mon/Tue. Sat 10am—5.30pm; Wed—Fri 10am-8pm; Sun 11am—5pm. £3.50 (£2); family ticket £9. See Art
FESTIVAL .
1996 PUPPET AND ANIMATION FESTIVAL
Mon 25 Mar—Sat 13 Apr. livents across Fast l.othian. Midlothian. West l.othiau. Edinburgh. Stirling And Clydesdale. For further details and local booking information call The Netherbow Arts Centre. Edinburgh. 0131 556 9579/2647. The puppet and animation people are leaving no strings uttpulled at this year's festival with a touring van full of lively. colourful shows for children and families bursting out all over the central belt. We've picked out a few highlights to help you on your way. but full details can be found in the official Puppet And .-\nimation Festival brochure. See Film Section and Frontlines for hot tips on the animation front.
I Big Jackie And The Beanstalk Ages 4 and over. In Moving Hands Puppet Theatre land. ‘Jackie' is a big. brave strapping lad who legs it up the heanstalk to rescue Mazey the Chicken and Horace the Friendly Giant from a bully who‘s too big for his boots.
Hmvt/en l’rrrk Centre. /.il'itlg.\‘tun Wed 3 Apr. 10.30am.
Dunbar ('urn lire/urnge Sat (t Apr.
10.30am.
(‘lum‘li Hill Theatre. Edinburgh Mon 8 Apr. 1 lam/2.30pm.
Brumyrigg Leisure Centre Tue 9 Apr. 2pm.
Burg/t Hulls, Linlithgmv Wed 10 Apr. 10. 30am.
I The Melting Princess Ages 3 and over. Just when Klischandra the Ice Princess has got herself all nice and cold in her frosty palace. along comes Harissa with his hot. fiery breath to melt it all away. Nae fun. The world of sub-zero temperatures seems doomed — until Kasper comes to the rescue in this show from Lempen Puppets.
Mnyjie/t/ Leisure Centre Tue _ Apr. 10.30am.
Queenwuv Leisure ('entre, I’enieuik Tue 2 Apr. 2pm.
(Irii‘ehrit/ge Leisure ('entre Wed 3 Apr. 10.30am.
Presto/t]an ('mninunity (‘enlre Wed 3 Apr. 2.30pm.
Kan Kan The Kangaroo Ages 3 and over. Jactito Visual Theatre with a quirky little show about a kangaroo who falls from his mothers pouch on the way to the Animal Sports Games.
Hum/en l’urk ('entre. Livingstmt Thurs 28 Mar. 10.30am.
.lltu'Ru/iert Arts Centre. Stirling Sat 30 Mar. 11am.
.\’eI/ier/unv .-lrt.r ('entre. lz'tlin/tu/g/i Mon 1—-2 Apr. llam.
Lne/i ('entre. 'l'rnnent Thurs 4 Apr. 10.30am.
Cartoon Theatre Ages 7 and over. See panel.
.l'ltu'lt’uliert .tlrtx ('eutre, Stirling Sat 30 Mar. 11am.
Hum/en I’urk ('entre, Livingston Thurs 4 Apr. 7pm.
(‘lnirt'lt Hill Theatre. lit/in/niIg/t Sat (3 Apr. 7pm.
HEM- TOONEDIN
Once upon a time the idea of real live actors interacting with cartoon characters was nigh an impossible. Technology being the progressive beast it is though, some kind of life meets art mix ’n’ match was always inevitable, on film at least.
Disney’s Bedknobs And Broamsticks was considered a pioneer in the race to merge live action footage with animation on film. And by the time Roger Rabbit sparred with Bob Noskins onscreen, the toons were often more three dimensional than the people.
Combining these two elements on stage is another thing altogether. Yet for the past five years lnvergordon- based Clown Jewels have been working towards just such a notion, producing children’s shows which combine flesh and blood onstage action with state of the art computer graphics. Their latest, Cartoon
Theatre, comes to Edinburgh as part of this year’s annual Puppet And Animation Festival, and tells the tale of a bored vaudeville artiste who goes in search of his one time partner. Such is the hi-tech wizardry involved that the bill can be customized for each performance depending on audience requests. But just how interactive can you get? Wouldn’t Bugs Bunny outsmarting Elmer Fudd be a safer bet?
‘There are disadvantages’, concedes Clown Jewels’ John McGeoch, who performs with moving pictures on a white screen behind him while his
Clown Jewels take off
partner Dave Smith operates a computer and video projector from the rear of the auditorium. ‘It [the show] is very hard to light and costuming is difficult because you have to wear all dark colours or else you’re projected on. At one time we could only use stuff we’d already painted, so a performance was one vast choreography, with no flexibility. Now we use real time computer graphics, which means we can paint something on the spot during a show.’
The potential for the medium is immense, and Clown Jewels are keen to become a resource for other companies who wish to experiment. They also utilise compugraphic techniques for decidedly non-kiddy audiences at raves. ‘We do something different every time depending on the nature of the event. At the moment it’s just an enjoyable sideline, but we’d like to take it further. It’s not for everybody, but the avenue it’s opened up is enormous. (Neil Cooper)
See listings for details
A 80 The List 22 Mar-4 Apr 1996