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The Selfish Giant
- Tour & Scottish Premiere.
Part of the 2004 Bank Of Scotland Children's International Theatre Festival
organised by Imaginate.
Adapted from the story by Oscar Wilde.
Director - Annie Wood.
Designer - Imogen Cloet.
Music - Jim Kitson.
Puppets designers and makers - Winter, Autumn and Summer puppets
- Rodger Lade, Boy puppet - Shona Reppe.
Cast - The Giant - Ross Mullan and Spring - Kate Crossley..
Company - Polka Theatre Company Company
Website.
Venue & Times in Edinburgh - At Garage Theatre.
Family Perfomances 28 May at 3pm
29 May at 10.30am & 1.00pm.
Tour - Glasgow and Shetland details here.
Seen to review on 25 May at Traverse Theatre Edinburgh.
Run Time - 50mins.
Suggested Age - 3+ years.
Reviewer - Thelma Good.
3-D actors but ending too flat.
In this retelling of Oscar Wilde's story the boy is just a boy, in the
form of a puppet you want to hug, but his garden is golden and he says
it's heaven. The Christian strands may have been airbrushed out but the
story still entrances. Kate Crossley is a fairy from her flowery
shoes to her flowers and butterfly headdress, she only lacks wings. Her
Spring is like a picture book character come to life, all children small
or overgrown will follow her willingly when she asks tearfully for our
help. The Giant's away and she has to sow seeds in his garden before he
comes back.
Once we are lead into the garden we find Winter is still there, and Spring
gets us to blow him away. When the Giant appears we all find ourselves
being flowers. We even get to surprise the huge man with the tall hat,
Ross Mullan, whose deep, rich Canadian voice, physical presence
and excellent costume continues the feel of illustrations come to life.
There's a rich industrial English accent from a worm, a cool dude of Summer
and Autumn is perhaps rather too prone to wind - the adults were more
amused than the children. But all in trouble when the Giant throws everyone
out of his garden except winter.
The Giant is incredibly selfish, but when that wee boy appears, he gradually
melts the giant's heart till they play cans. (A note to the company -
Cans is great fun but to hear the other person's voice the string needs
to be taut.) The production is generally very tight, but the children
are longing to help far more often than the script allows for. At the
end the Giant leaves the garden to the children and the play just stops
there. No curtain call, just children sitting in the garden, it was an
oddly flat ending which could benefit from a more structured wind down.
© Thelma Good 25 May 2004. - Published on EdinburghGuide.com
Another play directed by Annie Wood for macRobert Stirling was based on
Oscar Wilde's The Happy Prince - Review.
More
info and reviews on the annual Bank of Scotland Children's International
Theatre Festival.
Touring to
3 June at 11am & 1:30pm at Glasgow Budhill Pre 5 Centre
0141 287 9843.
4 June at 11am & 1:30pm at Glasgow Castlemilk Youth
Complex 0141 287 9843.
8 - 11 June to Shetland for details phone 01595 692114.
Theatre Editor, Thelma
Good's e-mail is thelma@edinburghguide.com
Although every effort has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the
information presented in these pages, no responsibility can be accepted
for any errors or omissions.
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