Most children’s theatre audiences are used to being presented with familiar fairytales and yarns with clear, moralistic storylines. Departing from this usual dialogue-driven format, I Theatre presents a new take on children’s shows with their latest production, Round the Moon, Blue the Sky.
An original I Theatre production, Round the Moon, Blue the Sky transforms the stage into a playroom where young audiences are invited to exercise their imagination, creativity and sense of discovery. Rather than relying on dialogue alone to tell the story, the production creates an impressionistic mood through its acting, set design, costumes, dance and even use of black light theatre. Dialogue is interjected to help guide the audience along the story and expound on key themes.
In the pantomime tradition, Round the Moon, Blue the Sky is highly participatory and often has its young audience shouting aloud, gleefully prompting the characters’ actions. At one point of the show, selected audience members are even brought on stage of the show to “step into” the play and contribute to its storytelling.
Round the Moon, Blue the Sky’s storyline revolves around three characters, Leaf, Twiglet and Smallest Dragon.
Smallest Dragon is a pivotal character whose mantra is “Look, See, Explore, Discover”. This also sets out the main theme for the production.
Leaf and Twiglet are magical forest folk. Their first appearance, decked out in beautiful costumes, resplendent with shrubbery and foliage, evokes memories of Enid Blyton’s The Enchanted Forest and folk of The Magic Faraway Tree.
However, not all is well in the magical forest. Twiglet falls into an unhappy stupor and it is left to Leaf and Smallest Dragon to reignite her imagination. To do so, they expand her view of the world by evoking the perennial children’s questions of “What?” and “Why?”. This opens the window for Twiglet to look at the world through a variety of shapes and colours. The audience is invited along for the journey and to use their imagination together with the actors on stage.
A highlight of the 45-minute show is the use of black light theatre to bring the imagination to life. With a darkened set and UV lighting, the technique brings simple geometric shapes to luminescent-coloured life, playfully dancing around the stage.
Round the Moon, Blue the Sky is I Theatre’s first project in partnership with the Asian Alliance of Theatre Festivals for Young Audiences (ATYA). ATYA is a platform that aims to connect, collaborate and celebrate theatre for young people with international artists, companies and festivals regionally and internationally.
The international flavour of the production is reflected in its cast, Meri Otoshi (Japan) as Leaf, Isabella Chiam (Singapore) as Smallest Dragon and Cherry Tiffany (Hong Kong) as Twiglet.
Round The Moon, Blue The Sky is showing at the Alliance Française Theatre till 27 July 2014. After this, the production moves on to Japan and, later in the year, to Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur.
Round the Moon, Blue the Sky
21 – 27 July 2014
Alliance Française Theatre
Written and Directed by Brian Seward.
Featuring performers from Singapore, Japan and Hong Kong
Most suitable for 2-8 years and families
Duration: 45 minutes
Tickets available through:
SISTIC Website www.sistic.com.sg
SISTIC Hotline (65) 6348 5555
And SISTIC Authorised Agents island wide
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