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| Edinburgh : A&E : Festivals : Fringe Reviews |
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 Childrens |
Rating Guide None = Unmissable 
= UnwatchablePage number refers to the Fringe programme James Campbell's Onomatopoeia Society II (The Etymological Conference). (Page 10). Drams None the show is a natural lift. Venue Gilded Balloon Teviot. (Venue 14). Address. 13 Bristo Square. Reviewer Ariadne Cass. Did you know the word ‘fart’ is an onomatopoeic word? This show concerns onomatopoeia, alliteration, spoonerisms and farts. The farts however are contextually relevant and therefore justifiable. Language is silly and funny and words are fantastically comical. With energy and joy the performers play several characters . In case of big words there is an Explanatory Otter (there’s a costume and a dance, very funny) and, in case the plot goes too smoothly, there are plenty of surreal moments. And plenty of farts. The overall effect is one of such laconically played charm that it is impossible not to fall in love with silly words all over again. In its own bonkers way it is also very educational. It’s very well written and very clever, stimulating the brain in the best possible way. ©Ariadne Cass 15 August 2006 - Published on EdinburghGuide.com. Runs to August 27 at 12:00 every day. Company - Fat Cat Productions. Company Website - www.fatcatproducts.co.uk
Drams .Venue Assembly at Assembly Hall. (Venue 35). Address Mound Place. Reviewer Adam Baker. Kids are surely the toughest audience. The one in front of me barely had the attention span necessary to eat a Milky Bar let alone watch an hour long performance. And as I watched a peroxide tot a few seats down throw a hissy fit that would make Elizabeth Taylor proud, my thoughts went out to the performers. The lights go down, a heady mix of Ritalin and Chewits are administered all around, and our host for the afternoon, camp-as-a-tent Patrick, takes to the stage. Now, Jim Henson's Puppet Improv - For Kids! is not a traditional puppet show, in that the puppeteers, people dressed in black with resolutely American names like Tyler, Brad and Drew, are visible at all times. You see, Jim Henson's Puppet Improv - For Kids! actually comprises two simultaneous shows in a kind of Brecht at the Early Learning Centre idea. The performers, in full view on stage, manipulate their puppets to a camera which projects a 'finished product' video onto screens either side of the stage. It isn't very easy, especially if you're seated in the middle, to know where to look, but it does at least mean there's plenty of visual stimulus to keep kids occupied. I know it's a cliché, but the kids really were the stars of the show; their suggestions, to my delight, were relentlessly scatological and really kept the performers on their toes. It seemed to me that there was a slight culture gap - Patrick, bless his heart, wasn't exactly sure what The Weakest Link was, and I'm not sure the kids in the audience had any idea what Patrick was. Fast paced and genuinely funny, Jim Henson's Puppet Improv - For Kids! proves a strangely enjoyable show. Just a word of warning - that glorious green frog and his more luscious than life, pink sidekick don't make an appearance, and they WILL try and sting your kids for merchandise on the way out... ©Adam Baker 11 August 2006 - Published on EdinburghGuide.com Runs to August 20 at 15:00 every day, except the 14. Company - The Jim Henson Company. Company Website - www.henson.com .
Knight Time. (Page 11). Drams
. Venue C Too. (Venue 4). Address St Columba's by the Castle, Johnston Terrace. Reviewer Ariadne Cass. Nick Ash puts so much energy into this one - man show that by the end of it he is dripping wet and buggle - eyed. Which is a pity, because the audience is, for the most part, unmoved. Although the children are quite sporting and stomp, cheer and squeak when asked to, the overall atmosphere is a little flat. The intermittent songs are slow and long and leave you feeling slightly sorry for him. The use of puppetry during the show is undermined somewhat by his set, which redundantly takes up the middle of the stage and requires much running around on his part. The puppets are sadly underused, dropped or hidden suddenly so Nick can carry on telling the story on his own. The pace finally grinds to a halt when the story of Jack the ice cream seller turned knight wobbles to a close, and the puppet - making lesson begins. It is a short lesson, and it leaves the audience on an odd note. While Nick is enthusiastic and energized, the whole experience is two-dimensional. ©Ariadne Cass 19 August 2006 - Published on EdinburghGuide.com. Runs to August 28 at 12:00 every day. Company - Scratch Built Productions.
The Little Tempest. (Page 11). Drams .Venue Venue 13. (Venue 13). Address Lochend Close, Canongate. Reviewer Ariadne Cass . James Williams directs this magical children's version of The Tempest. It's Shakespeare made understandable but not at the expense of the language, much of which is kept in and voiced, mainly through Prospero, Chris Morgan. It's such a cheery production, largely due to Kyle Leighton and Lisa Cassidy, who play the rest of the characters and the puppeteer, the grotesque Caliban, with a sweet playfulness. It's perfect stuff for children, with audience participation employed to create the spirits and the storm itself. While this is an accessible production, the play does not suffer for it. The atmosphere of magic on the island is heightened by lighting and music. Cleverly, some of the imagery of Shakespeare's language is made immediate and real with audience participation. The children have great fun screeching as harpies or barking as magic dogs. There are genuinely emotional moments as well, with the epilogue delivered in full by Prospero so wonderfully it makes the atmosphere in the theatre quiver like the bubble it is. This production is a fantastic introduction to Shakespeare for grown - ups as well as children. Very beautiful and great fun. ©Ariadne Cass 20 August 2006 - Published on EdinburghGuide.com . Runs to August 27 at 11:00 every day. Company -Ripley Theatre.
Lollipop Man And The Rabbit Of Doom. (Page 11). Drams
soft
ones for the children.Venue Gilded Ballon Teviot. (Venue14). Address 13 Bristo Square. Reviewer Ariadne Cass . The stage is set with a projector and a microphone. The audience is greeted by Philip Sheppard, our narrator, who holds a lollipop crossing stick and tells us we can cross safely to our seats. There are lollipops on the seats, hooray! The lights come up and the next three quarters of an hour remind me of…school. School in the afternoon when educational theatre invaded your classroom and you were bored and itchy but at least you weren’t doing maths. For it is not theatre at all, but a classroom. It is a narrated story with props. Nervous in his delivery, the presenter is so uncertain that the children have no sympathy for him whatsoever - they fidget all the way through. It is also visually distracting to have to constantly look from him to the projector and back, though the illustrations are very wholesome and skilfully drawn. The story of the evil hypnotist rabbit, who tries to make children cross the road in silly ways, is actually taken from the Lollipop trilogy of road safety books. The production is in fact sponsored by Brake, a road safety charity. While this is an important part of a child’s education, this is such an old fashioned approach. While I can appreciate that this production has been designed to be portable and fit into any classroom, it is not theatre – it’s a very good presentation. ©Ariadne Cass 14 August 2006 - Published on EdinburghGuide.com Runs to August 5-20 at 11:00 every day. Company - Baa Code. Company Website - www.baacode.co.uk .
The Magical Jello. (Page 11). Drams
soft
ones for the jokes.Venue Sweet Grassmarket . (Venue 18). Address Apex City Hotel, 61 Grassmarket . Reviewer Pippa Tennant . Being over the age of ten, I feel a bit inadequate assessing a show aimed at seven year olds, so I decide to concentrate on the kids' reactions rather than mine. But even they are a bit perplexed. Is this guy for real? Don't get me wrong, being able to stand up and make a prat out of yourself is definitely worthy of respect, but maybe along with that gift it would be worth investing a bit of time doing some magic tricks? It definitely gets better. The highlights are multicoloured hankies and multiplying sponge balls, but whilst Jello seems like a nice guy and works hard at including the audience, his performance has plenty of room for improvement. Ten points for enthusiasm though and the volunteers are grinning wide enough. I'm not sure whether this is in response to their moment of fame however, or perhaps an attempt to encourage their host? I'm pretty sure it's not purely a reaction to Jello's act. The Magic Jello is harmless enough, but you maybe better off checking out the street performers with your kids on the meadows. Dressed in multicoloured diamond trousers, orange shirt, silver sparkly tie and hedgehog hat, he looks the part, but it seems the main thing this magician has up his sleeve is a horde of bad jokes. . ©Pippa Tennant 15 August 2006 - Published on EdinburghGuide.com Runs to August 20 at 11:15 every day Company - The Magic Jello. Company Website - www.magicjello.co.uk .
The Man Who Planted Trees. (Page 11). Drams None. Perfect. Venue Scottish Storytelling Centre (Netherbow). (Venue 30) Address The Netherbow, 43-45 High Street. Reviewer Ariadne Cass. This production smells. As well as using puppetry and conventional staging, it also treats the audience's noses as well. Smell triggers off so many associations in the brain. It colours the whole experience far more eloquently that description alone could. Although the associations in an adult and a child may be very different, it is nonetheless equally powerful. Directed by the fascinating Alie Cohen , The Man Who Planted Trees is a beautiful fable about the persistence of goodness in humanity. It is an environmental tale, excellently delivered with a dry and wonderful wit. It's a very old story by Jean Giono, which has already inspired many environmental good deeds. It is retold here with a clever lightness of touch and moving gentleness. The show nicely alternates between deep issues and hilarity. Particularly comical is the character Dog, who saves the show from becoming too immersed in its own profundity. Performing the peice are two actor puppeteers Richard Medrington and Rick Conte who hit exactly the right note. They are relaxed and at the same time very focused. It sustains the attention of the children throughout, who are enthralled. One person can with patience and tenacity change the world. It is an invaluable lesson for children and adults. If you have no children of your own and none that you can borrow, take a grown up one instead. This is the best show I have seen so far this Fringe. ©Ariadne Cass 15 August 2006 - Published on EdinburghGuide.com Runs to August 15-20, 22-27 at 13:00 every day. Now two extra shows on Monday 28 at 1 & 3pm. Company - Puppet State Theatre Company. Company Website - www.puppetstate.com .
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