KIDS | Previews & Reviews
DANCE MAMABABAME Southside Community Centre, Edinburgh, Thu 1–Sun 4 Jun; Platform, Glasgow, Sat 10 & Sun 11 Jun, and touring. Reviewed at The Brunton, Musselburgh ●●●●●
Starcatchers, the pre-school age children’s theatre specialists, have teamed up with dance company Curious Seed to create a piece of dance that is accessible to children aged 18 months to three years – and those who nurture them.
And nurturing is very much the key. This is a duet which uses cuddles and
holding, feeding and reassuring, as its language. It has no particular narrative, more an evolution using the kind of movement and dance that intrigues an audience. It’s all played out on a circular stage, with dancers Hannah Venet and Nerea
Gurrutxaga surrounded by a low wall of soft material. The audience sits on carpet outside the wall, which the toddlers among us soon realise is just the right size to lean on or clamber over – but high enough to feel like a barrier for those who might start out intimidated by the experience.
TV WHERE IN THE WORLD? CBeebies, starts Mon 5 Jun ●●●●●
In the adult universe, division is not only rife but a constant source of dysfunction and disaster. Children, as witnessed in a charming new CBeebies series, are by and large the same the world over. They may be naturally prone to local or national customs and have a myriad of languages, but their sense of play and wonderment is a constant thread which binds them all together. And, like everyone else, they can get a little frustrated at their siblings. Across 20 episodes of Where in the World?, we meet the likes of Hamza, an
eight-year-old lad from Jordan out shopping for a present for his baby sister; six- year-old Indian girl Anushka heads for a family gathering in the countryside; Italian Mario (aged seven) writes some verse in a birthday card for his dad in a touching symbol of familial love. A father will always want to give something back to their kid, of course, and unless they’re one of those crazy Competitive Dad types, they’ll copy the pop of eight-year-old Canadian Rhys and deliberately lose at a skiing race (three times over, the legend).
While Christine Devaney's choreography develops and expands on the Culinary matters are never too far away with Vietnam’s Truc digging up some
changing relationship between child and adult, cellist Robin Mason provides music which is both a commentary on the movement and a soundtrack to dance to. Pitched perfectly for its target age range, MamaBabaMe's presentation and
environment is completely understanding of their needs. (Thom Dibdin)
carrots to make a healthy salad (though all she really wants to do is fire into a bowl of noodles), while Russian Liza has a gentle battle with her brother over some blueberry picking. While the much-consuming leisure pursuits of FaceTime and Snapchat might not be too far off into the distance for these kids, the simple joys of hanging out with family still have a universal appeal. (Brian Donaldson)
LIVE TOUR MISTER MAKER & THE SHAPES LIVE! King’s Theatre, Edinburgh, Sat 15 Jul
Like Tony Hart for a generation raised on smartphones, Mister Maker is a TV show – broadcast on the BBC’s CBeebies channel – about making things. Not the complex and painstaking Blue Peter projects of old, but exercises in craft skills which are truly breakneck. Its host, Mister Maker, has a local radio presenter’s exuberance and a range of cartoonish expressions which fit the vividly coloured, hyperreal style of the show. ‘It sounds like a cliché, but being Mister Maker is my dream
job,’ says Phil Gallagher, the former Disney and GMTV kids presenter who took on the role in 2007. ‘I wanted to be a children's television presenter from an early age, and to be one on a show that encourages fun and creativity is a dream come true.’
Over the years, Gallagher has inhabited the part, now writing
for both the television and stage versions. ‘I’ve always loved making things and being creative, and now as a 40-year-old big kid I’m no different,’ he says. ‘My house is covered in glitter, sticky tape and googly eyes, but I don't mind, because arts and craft has become my life.’ The role has made him a star worldwide; when the Mister Maker stage show first toured the UK between 2015 and 2016 it was seen by 80,000 people, and the following year it made 18 sold-out appearances at the Sydney Opera House. And if he is this generation’s Tony Hart, then guest-stars the Shapes are his Morph; dancing, life-sized shapes which teach basic lessons about form and colour. ‘We have a great theatre show for you – a big, bright, bold and happy party celebrating creativity and fun,’ Gallagher says. ‘It has art at its heart but also includes a lot of the things that make live theatre exciting. There’ll be plenty of singing, dancing and audience interaction.’ (David Pollock)
84 THE LIST 1 Jun–31 Aug 2017