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The following is a selection of reviews written by a group of children who attended the Ark's VoxPop workshops in Autumn 2003. As part of these workshops, the children attended three Dublin Theatre Festival productions in the Ark, and three workshops facilitated by professional critics. They wrote, edited and presented their reviews both on paper and in front of a camera.
During the workshops about reviewing, children were made aware that they were completely free to like or dislike anything. Their responsibility was to explain why a show worked or did not work for them, and they were given some ideas about what to look out for in a show. Some of the reviews below are positive, some are negative. They reflect the honest opinions of the children who wrote them and not the opinions of the adults who facilitated the workshops!!!
The three plays they attended were:
BEAR, THE STORY OF A HERO
When I saw the set for the first time, I knew this was going to be a good show. It looked very unusual and imaginative and it really drew the eye in. The story starts with the only person in the show, Marije van der Sande, opening an old chest and taking out a small doll and bear. They make friends, and when the doll is kidnapped, Bear goes to find and save her. His journey to Unland, where she is being held, uses everyday household objects as props and really shows how far a little imagination can go.
BEAR, THE STORY OF A HERO
The theatre production company TamTam performed Bear, The Story of a Hero in the Ark on Friday 3rd October. Marije van der Sande and Gerard Schiphorst founded the company TamTam in 1979 and it is amongst the avant-garde of European visual theatre.
This particular show was for a younger age-group - between four and eight years. It is about a bear, and a doll called Noortje. Marije van der Sande performed on her own using a stuffed teddy as Bear and a doll as Noortje. As well as using Bear and Noortje, Marije also used a lot of household objects to show the amazing and wonderful journey undertaken by Bear. Noortje has been captured by an evil creature in black, and locked in a castle. It's Bear's duty to save her. Will he succeed?
This is a very quiet show but is still enjoyable. It is very imaginative and creative, and to this viewer at least an outstanding show.
A BOY CALLED RUBBISH
A Boy Called Rubbish was performed by two South African men, one named Ellis, the other Bheki. Rubbish, the main character played by Ellis, was adopted by Mama (Bheki). Rubbish, whose real name is Mush, was taken in by Mama when he was very young. The story is about Rubbish's life and his struggles with his mother. It is a hilariously witty, amusing and funny performance. This play is for five to twelve year olds, but older children would certainly enjoy it as well. The duration of the show at approximately 60 minutes is just right. There is a lot of audience contact and the actors play jokes throughout the show. This play will keep you on the edge of your seat and will leave you red-faced with laughter. Rubbish it definitely isn't!
A BOY CALLED RUBBISH
Boy Called Rubbish really touches your heart and it is easy to see why everyone in the audience, parents and children, really enjoyed it and laughter could be heard throughout the auditorium. It may have been a little loud for some ears and not everyone liked the noise and younger children became scared at some points. The storyline was fantastic and space in the auditorium was used very well. Rubbish was the name of a boy who was bullied by his stepmother and whom no one respected. It was amazing to see how so many characters could be played by two actors and interesting to see how the distinction was made between each one.
This play illustrates how anyone can become a hero and was very funny at the same time. This play shows how children's theatre is improving all the time and this production must be one of the best in its class.
CASIO TONE
I did not enjoy Casio Tone as I thought it was repetitive and unexciting. There did not seem to be a storyline, only that it was about a woman who lived in a box and spent most of her time cleaning. There was no climax and the music was uninteresting and faded into the background. Anything unusual that did happen seemed out of place and most likely appeared again later in the show.
The 50 minutes duration of the show was very dull and the only good thing I noticed in the show was the set, so I was disappointed when later in the show I realised that all items were drawn on with marker and could be wiped off, which they then were. The costume design was equally disappointing as she was wearing two different greens and the skirt was a little short and revealing. I would not recommend this show as I cannot think of any age group which would enjoy it.
Presented in 2003The following reviews were written by the children from the Ark's outreach project in Fatima Mansions, working with critics Christine Madden and Deirdre Mulrooney
Aracaladanza: Visto Y No Visto (Now you See it, Now you Don’t)
I think the show was very good. I liked most of the stuff that was going on, and my favourite part was when the people became as big as giants. I liked that because it was very believable. The set was weird because there were big fake clothes on it. I enjoyed when two of the women were dancing and the rest came out dancing with dummies, and I also liked when the woman with all the clothes came out with a feather boa and the spotlight kept on moving away from her!
I think that little kids would really enjoy this show.
There was smoke on the stage in the beginning. I liked the bit where the dancers threw all the clothes out of the bag. I liked when the colours changed and underneath the dancers’ dresses the colours were red, green, yellow, blue and pink. It is great what you can do with clothes!
I liked this show because it was very funny. I also think it was colourful and the clothes were wonderful. The dancing was very good and they kept a good mood all the way through.
It was very funny because the costumes were weird and wonderful. It was quite magical and lovely and colourful too.
This show in the Ark was great. There were lots of funny parts. I enjoyed when the dancers were throwing the clothes in the air. It was great and there were even small children laughing.
I think that it was a very funny show. The best bits were when the dancers turned into giants and also when the woman took off hundreds of clothes. I would love to see this show again because it was lots of fun and because some parts were very weird!
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