LIST.CO.UK/FESTIVAL REVIEWS FESTIVAL KIDS
THE GOLDEN COWPAT Lo-fi Jackanory with ukulele-to-blues sound- scape ●●●●● CIRCUS IN HAND Circus puppetry with a human touch ●●●●●
Farmer Hector has fallen on hard times. The pigs and geese have been sold, his once robust vegeta- bles are puny. Salvation comes from the rear end of a cow. Betty, an ornery beast much given to tipping her herd-mates, produces 24-carat poo.
Robin Hemmings narrates this fairy tale mash-up (The Goose That Laid the Golden Egg with hints of Jack and the Beanstalk, The Emperor’s New Clothes and a flash of TV series Hustle) to Anna Wheatley’s ukulele, squeeze box and cowbell soundtrack. She has a wonderful blues voice and the song Betty’s Got The Boos is an aural highlight.
Hemmings has a fine range of squelchy poo
sounds and characterises a huffy cow with endear- ing enthusiasm. The audience participation auction, to buy the golden cowpats, ends only when the kids can’t think of any bigger numbers. And, thanks to a vote in which the kids unanimously support hard-up Hector in favour of the spiv who puts stars in Betty’s eyes, there is even a happy ending. (Anna Burnside) ■ Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, until 27 Aug, 10.45am & 11.50am, £7–£8 (£6–£7).
There can’t be many circuses at the Fringe where you can behold a ringmaster standing on a giraffe’s head or a tap-dancing zebra. But then there can’t be many circuses at all where the performers are made from neat slices of stretchy fabric, adorably animated by a team of puppeteers. Hand Made Theatre’s neon-bright cloth circus also features tiny acrobats, a hula hooper, a snake danc- er and lots of bouncing clowns. Perhaps because the stunts aren’t real they don’t have the same wow factor as they would in a conventional big top – it’s not quite so heart-stopping to see a finger puppet put his head in a sock lion’s mouth. But the puppet- ry is seriously good, largely down to Hand Made’s observations of circus movement. You could easily forget the voluptuous acrobat in her silver hoop was made from shiny fabric, and the swinging trapeze artist (a wisp of silver cloth) swirls into balances with remarkable humanity. (Lucy Ribchester) ■ Assembly Roxy, 623 3030, until 27 Aug (not 20), 11.50am, £8–£9.
PAPERBELLE Imaginative fun for the very young ●●●●●
Creating a show that straddles the fine line between engaging a pre-schooler, and not scaring them, isn’t easy. Harder still to capture the imagination of the grown-up whose lap they’re sitting on or next to. Yet with this delicate, sweet and funny show, Scottish theatre company Frozen Charlotte manages
to do exactly that. Slipping off our shoes and placing our bags to one side, we enter a world made of paper. The floor, the walls, the furniture, even the performer’s shirt has a papyrus quality. He’s all alone on stage, backed by a guitarist who sits behind us, and the busiest technical operator in Edinburgh working away backstage. The star of the show, Paperbelle, lives up to her name. Made from a small square of paper, she
communicates with surprising coherence through the notes of the guitar. Darting around the stage (courtesy of that busy technician) she appears here, there and everywhere, much to the delight of the young audience (and, to be honest, us grown-ups, too). Pure white at first, flashes of bright colour slowly appear around the set and on Paperbelle’s attire.
Again, this is met with squeals of delight from toddlers who have clearly sussed that being sharp eyed is a key part of this theatrical experience. The simplest of storylines (Paperbelle visits her friend and introduces some colour into his life) means there’s no possibility of misunderstanding or confusion, regardless of age. Actor Stanley Pattison has a playful, yet gentle, manner, as tickled by Paperbelle’s shenanigans as we are.
Purpose-built for the show, the performance area is bright but intimate, giving that much needed sense of security for tiny ones (and their even tinier siblings who come along for the ride). While the wee surprise at the end makes everyone feel part of the action. (Kelly Apter) ■ Assembly Royal Botanic Garden, 623 3030, until 27 Aug, 10.30am, 11.45am & 1.30pm, £7.
GIDDY GOAT Hilltop musical fails to scale the heights ●●●●●
A reasonably interesting idea meets relatively good performances in this new musical from C Theatre, but can’t undo the damage of a seriously weak score. Growing up on a mountain side, the eponymous
goat is too young and timid to jump off a rock, until he’s called upon to rescue a stranded sheep, and discovers his hero within. Jamie Rix’s picture book adapts well for the stage, and there’s certainly no shortage of energy from the young cast, with Alex Foott, who doubles as Giddy’s older brother and an amusing frog, shining brightest. But there’s not a single memorable song here, nor one piece of audience interaction that serves the plot in any way – all of it put there purely for the sake of it, and therefore feeling slightly forced. For some inexplicable reason, Lucy Burke (Giddy) turns into an American every time she sings, and the whole show feels like a triumph of gleam over sub- stance. (Kelly Apter) ■ C, 0845 260 1234, until 27 Aug, 12.15, £7.50– £9.50 (£3.50–£7.50).
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