Putting some bite into holiday fun
Margaret Mahy’s quirky tales basis of play that adds warmth to winter
There are some certainties about midyear school holidays: the year feels like it’s moving too fast (that’s the adults) but simultaneously too slowly (that’s the kids); the weather will be miserable for at least half the time and, because of the above, it’s easy to feel at a low ebb.
But another certainty about school holidays is that Tim Bray Productions will stage one of its consistently good plays for children and, if you’re smart, you’ll go along with the kids because it will make winter just that bit warmer.
This July, Bray has adapted three of Margaret Mahy’s tales — The Great White Man-eating Shark, The Boy With Two Shadows and The Boy Who Was Followed Home — with songs by Marshall Smith and music by Oliver Huang-Hsu.
You can’t go wrong with source material as great as Mahy’s quirky stories. I mean, who hasn’t wanted to have an entire beach to themselves? It’s just that not many of us would be inventive enough to do so by impersonating a great white shark. Throw in a witch or two and some colourful hippos and you’re clearly — judging by audience reaction — onto a winner.
The cast of Dylan Underwood, Calum Hughes, Erica Kroger and Kat Glass are committed to their roles, with Underwood, in particular, throwing himself into all he takes on; Glass puts in an endearing performance as a nomadic hippo far from home.
I had with me two 9-yearolds, who were possibly at the upper end of the age scale for these productions. However, they were engaged, laughed at all the right moments and left talking excitedly about how they might have a go at making their own hippos (and wanted to read the Mahy stories again).
They’ve become more interested in the stagecraft of these productions. How will the shadow of a witch be portrayed? How do you create a beach on stage? Can an actor really portray a shark? Simply but cleverly and in a way that delights.