Ottawa Children’s Festival has plenty of fun for the entire family
OTTAWA CHILDREN’S FESTIVAL
Reviewed Wednesday, May 11 When: Continues until May 15 Where: LeBreton Flats Park Information/Tickets: 613-241-0999, ottawachildrensfestival.ca
RAW METAL (AUSTRALIA)
Basketballs, flip-flops, even scuba-diving fins: Clearly, there’s little around your home that couldn’t be used to pound out a rhythm. That’s one of the things a jam-packed audience learned from this energetic and superbly choreographed quartet. Showmen each and every one, they tap danced, used those basketballs and footwear to build complex rhythmic patterns, and blended solo stints with ensemble pieces to remind us that rhythm is as natural, and important, as breathing. The children loved it all, cheering on the precision of the performances, some of them done to classic rock and funk tunes, and laughing at the foursome’s occasional goofing around. The audience also jumped at the chance to be part of the show by dividing into teams and clapping rhythmically after a brief lesson. It would be terrific to see youngsters up on stage with this infectiously upbeat act. For all ages.
WILL STROET AND THE BACKYARD BAND (CANADA)
The little guy with the dark, soulful eyes and baseball cap was totally into Will Stroet’s first couple of action songs about bicycle safety and exercise, flinging his arms out to signal left and right turns and bouncing avidly when it was time to celebrate physical activity. His attention flagged during the quieter numbers about using your imagination and learning sign language, but surged back with the jaunty song about libraries.
Stroet, who sings in both official languages and has a nice way with children, seems unfazed by playing for audiences that, like that young man, swing from being ultra-engaged to abruptly losing interest.
But then he is a former teacher, stars in Will’s Jam on Kids’ CBC television, and has been performing his songs-with-a-message about hygiene and other topics for some time.
It’s all a little tame compared to some of the riveting acts we’ve seen at the festival over the years, but the audience had fun. For all ages.
THE ADVENTURES OF ALVIN SPUTNIK: DEEP SEA EXPLORER (AUSTRALIA)
This is children’s theatre at its best, a richly imagined and executed show that’s as rewarding for younger audiences as it is for teens and adults. Created by Tim Watts and performed by St. John Cowcher, it mixes animation, live action, music and more to tell its post-apocalyptic story about a newly widowed man heroically scouring the deeps in search of a new home — “a new Eden,” we’re told — for humankind who so unthinkingly destroyed the old one. It’s a classic quest tale with monsters, the threat of death and a spirit guide, the kind of story that speaks to our universal fear of obliteration and our longing for fresh beginnings. It shows us loss — the painful death of Alvin’s wife, the bodies and detritus of civilization littering the ocean floor — and celebrates love. Most of all, it buoys us with hope. Ages eight and up.