Now in its 10th year, Scottish based company Starcatchers specialises in creative performances for babies, toddlers and young children and their carers. For this latest show, they have teamed up with Irish children’s theatre company Branar Téatar to create a mix of puppetry and music that encourages curiosity and exploration in The Shape of Things.
The two performers Saras Feijoo and Helen Gregg are dressed in elfin outfits in the same muted colours of green and violet of the soft tented set where squidgy cuboid shapes are strung from the its centre and inside which the audience of wee people and their parents and carers sit. The gorgeous gentle music from Miquel Barcelo starts off the equally gentle action that is perfectly pitched to the aimed at age group, although it seemed that the babies around 1year old were particularly responsive.
For the 30 minutes of the show’s duration, soft square and triangular shapes, that latterly become the puppet forms of Cubert the cube and Triantán the triangle, each live and belong in their own space. Then comes the new kid on the block – a circle! Where does it go? With sensitive invention, and repetition so loved by small children, Gregg and Feijoo gently interact with their audience, creating magic.
It is a great gift to be able to adapt concepts so that they are understood by very small children while entertaining them. The premise of this trilingual piece is about belonging, inclusion and the value of being part of things, a message that the adults can pick up on but what matters most is what the wee ones relate to. The tinies in the audience in the Lafayette Bar of the Festival Theatre were totally enthralled by this beautifully tailored, tactile delight of a show. A pleasure to see!
The performance includes 10 minutes of interactive soft play with shapes.
12 October @ 11 am tour continues. Suitable for babies aged 6 months – 2 years