Show proves you’re never too old for Funbox

In our house, we’ve always been big Singing Kettle and Funbox fans.

So after booking our tickets for the latest Funbox performance in Aberdeen – Winter Wonderland – I was surprised when my son began to show a little reluctance on our journey to HMT at the weekend.

“I don’t think there will be any other boys my age there,” he complained, the situation becoming clear he thinks he is now too old for this type of traditional family fun.

Well, both he and I need not have worried, for he spent the following two hours wildly animated with mouth agog as Kevin, Gary and Anya took a packed theatre audience through a journey of songs, snow fun and silliness.

The Funboxers find themselves at the North Pole, but they have lost all the keys that will open the Funbox and they need our help to find them so we can all sing our favourite songs together.

And it is that interaction between performers and public that make this show as popular as it is. It’s a tried and tested formula that has served many generations of entertainers so well, and if it ain’t broke...

As well as such classics as My Aunt Came Back and Katie Bairdie, there were plenty of original songs to enjoy, courtesy of the fantastically talented musician Gary Coupland.

And as for the laughs, they came from Aberdonian Kevin, Anya and a host of fluffy creatures called Funsters who help make this show so colourful and engaging.

As with every Funbox show, the audience were asked to dress up and take along their own props. This time, with the North Pole being the setting, it was woolly hats and torches, with the torches making an eye-catching spectacle when the theatre lights went down.

A highlight for My son, who is seven years old, was Bonzo the dog. Even before Bonzo was announced on stage, Charlie was bouncing on his seat saying: “It’s Bonzo, Bonzo’s coming!” So much for being too old to enjoy Funbox.

And Bonzo delivered as he always does – cheeky toilet humour, slapstick comedy and even a dousing of water for members of the audience, with Anya quipping: “You just baptised a baby in the front row.”

While Bonzo was a highlight for my son, my favourite slot is always when young audience members take to the stage as you never know what is going to happen next, such as one little girl in a tartan dress being asked if she could perform a Highland dance, which she enthusiastically did, with Gary accompanying her on accordion. And a little boy being asked his name, to which he replied “Batman”, before leaving the stage to return dressed as an adorable little mouse as part of the next song. Proud moments for parents in the audience.

With their two HMT performances a resounding success, the Funbox gang are making their way back to the area later in the year, with a Highland Fling show in Portlethen, in April, at which their new DVD will be recorded, and an Underwater Adventure scheduled for HMT in August.

We’re already looking into tickets for our excitable fouryear-old daughter, and our now far-from-reluctant son.