WE ARE GOING ON A BEAR HUNT
WE'RE GOING ON A BEAR HUNT, Ensemble Theatre to April 11-22 2012. Photos Natalie Boog. L-R: Shondelle Pratt, Catherine McGraffin, Felix Gentle and Douglas Hansell.
The book is available in the foyer with a DVD - this is kids' theatre of the kind they love best: familiar, scary, funny and full of tunes and nonsense; and the opportunity to do a bit of shopping, if Mum/Aunty/Dad can be cajoled. Ensemble Big Cheese Mark Kilmurry, with director Anna Crawford, has adapted the popular book by Michael Rosen. It's 60 minutes of gentle fun for littlies and their minders.
In essence, it's about kids and their sibling rivalry and who's afraid of the big bad bear - or whichever Big Bad Thing is the cause of shivers and squeaks and night time horrors. Big sister Rosie (Catherine McGraffin) is ticked off - as many big sisters are - with having to make room for younger brother Harry (Felix Gentle). It makes her pretty grumpy and inclined to tease the wussy boy; that and having the middle name Gertronimude (sp? who knows), which would be enough to make any girl snaky. I mean, how on earth do you spell it, for one thing; and for another, how do you keep your hands off snivelling wretch Harry when he teases you about it?
Rosie and Harry are accompanied on the bear hunt by their Dad (Douglas Hansell). He is an authentic dad figure as he leads them uphill and down dale and through squelching mud and deep dark forests, in a dashing and heroic way, but forgets the things Mum would have remembered, like a change of clothes, a drink and some snacks.
The Bear, when finally discovered in a Big Dark Cave is the Bear of dreams - he's as scared of the dark and as lonely as any lonely scared Bear could be. He's also played by Dad/Hansell so there's ample room for the wandering mind of an adult to consider the psycho-analytic possibilities of this pairing.
Sitting for the most part behind an amazing array of domestic paraphernalia and toys that's actually an extensive percussion and SFX kit is the hardworking Shondelle Pratt. She also provides the voices for baby Bert and Max the Dog (puppet and soft toy respectively). She's also the choreographer for the show, which says a lot about the multi-skilling capabilities of the modern actor.
Running at a non-stop, song- and dance-filled one hour, Bear Hunt is just about right for the assorted small people who are turning up in droves at the Ensemble for this new Kilmurry venture. The actors throw themselves into the adventure with the enthusiasm and energy of 8-year-olds and their audience responds with equal enthusiasm. There are some laugh-out-loud jokes that sail right over the littles' heads to the grown-ups and absolutely nothing to cause nightmares later.
Let's hope this school holiday season is successful enough to entice the Ensemble to do it again. James, age 6 and 2/3, one of my companions at the show, doesn't like the movies because the screen is too big, but he loves going to the theatre because, he says, "it's real" and he likes being with the actors. I know what he means.
