Up and Down

The day before Kit went in for his operation we'd been offered tickets to go and see a new children's theatre company's production of Oliver Jeffers 'Up and Down'. I jumped at the chance as Kit has really loved the theatre productions we have been to before, and he loves Oliver Jeffers books, so I thought it would be a treat before he went into hospital. Despite us really struggling to get there and parked, because my sense of direction is appalling and I never normally drive around the London area, once we made it there Kit wasn't disappointed.

As a parent I enjoyed seeing him engage in the production, although I would say it wasn't as engaging for adults as some of the other children's productions I've seen. It was more engaging for young children though, which is the point afterall. The main part of it was mimed, with illutrations from the book to reinforce the story, it was very simple and clever in using a small stage to contruct several different sets. It stayed truer to the book than other productions that we've seen where parts were added to bulk the story out. This worked particularly well in keeping it short, which meant that it truely was suitable for babies upwards, as it wasn't asking to hold attension for an unreasonable amount of time. At a few points the actors came out into the audience to engage with the children, and while there were little words in show they communicated the story perfectly to the age group they were targetting. Kit loved it.

The show isn't running for much longer but we will be looking out for more Ga Ga Theatre Company productions. We just won't try to drive to Greenwich Picturehouse next time! They run their shows at various theatres across London, and they are all very easily accessible by public transport (or probably by car if you can read a map).