HANDA'S SURPRISE. To 6 January.

London

HANDA’S SURPRISE
based on the book by Eileen Browne.

Unicorn Theatre for Children (Clore Theatre) To 6 January 2008.
Tue-Sun various dates 10.30am, 11.30am, 1.45pm, 2.45pm, 4pm.
Runs 30min No interval.

TICKETS: 020 7645 0560.
www.unicorntheatre.com
Review: Timothy Ramsden 16 December.

Short, sweet and highly imaginative.
This is a beautiful, gentle and colourful piece for 2+, brought to Southwark’s Unicorn Theatre for Children from The Little Angel Theatre in Islington. Performed in its own environment, a walled-garden that also represents a Kenyan landscape, it shows Handa carrying a basket of fruits for her friend in another village to select her favourite.

Alas, sight of the basket perched on Handa’s head is too much for the local wildlife who make off with the fruits one by one. Luckily, unbeknown to Handa, a goat shakes some tangerines into her basket. And tangerines are her friend’s favourite fruit.

Audience members sit on the floor around the set as Handa gathers her basket and makes her way. The story isn’t so much one of progress and development as, fittingly for its very young observers, a presentation of pictures. Each moment is dwelt upon. There’s delight in the way each creature, from insect to elephant, is created by puppet, costume or mask.

Each creature also takes time to present itself to the audience, the puppets especially making close acquaintance with people. This allows time for each picture to register, and also for a helpful repetition of words. There’s also repeated use of two sung melodies, a lilting one for Handa’s walk, a sharper one for the animals’ taking of the fruits.

Sympathetically performed by Amie Buhari and Peri Olufunwa, with finely-crafted creatures that mix outline and detail while leaving enough space for young imaginations to work on the creatures, unhurried yet well-paced, this may be brief, but it’s a full-scale delight.

Cast: Amie Buhari, Peri Olufunwa.

Director: Marleen Vermulen.
Designer: Peter O’Rourke.
Designer/Costume: Sophia Lovell Smith.
Lighting: Adam Crosthwaite.

2007-12-17 01:07:34