Review: iTheatre's Hey Little Mousedeer

Dumpling gets very excited in the morning whenever she realises that we are going for any theatrical productions. This was certainly the case last Saturday as the family caught iTheatre's latest production, Hey Little Mousedeer. This time round however, she decided to go as a purple butterfly fairy complete with wand and all. :)

Truthfully, I feel that the brochure did not elaborate as much as what the play touched on. The story takes place in a jungle foliage setting where it centers around Kancil, a witty but arrogant mousedeer, who thinks of himself as the smartest creature in the jungle. He goes around tricking the big but blur ‘King of the Forest’ Harimau the Tiger; Monyet the friendly and helpful monkey; and the tiny and slow lizard Cicak for personal gains. 

Unable to put up with Kancil's tricks and arrogance, Cicak, Monyet and Harimau decided to turn the tables on him and tricked him into leaving the jungle where he was banished to the jungle fringe. Kancil then spotted a fire and rushed off to inform his friends so that they can escape. Will his friends believe him? How will they escape the fire? In a twist of fate, Kancil must now use his wit to save himself and his friends.   

Comparing this to the two previous plays (one of which was The Enormous Turnip) which we caught, this play seems to have more dialogue (lesser songs) and interaction with the audience. But the deforestation and forest fire scenes were depicted through the clever use of shadow puppetry which I feel were easily understood by the younger audiences. We spoke to Dumpling previously on why and how the haze came about and at one point she shouted "just like our haze and Indonesia!" 

Importantly, what I like about the play was that we were able to discuss values with Dumpling - on honesty, humility and being environmentally responsible. Dumpling also recognised the actress who was acting as Monyet as she was also in Magic Porridge Pot. 

There was also a meet-and-greet session with the cast and this time, it was on the stage with the vibrant backdrop and props. :)

Hey Little Mousedeer is now showing from 18 July to 7 August 2013. 

Details are as follows:

:: Duration: 
Performances 45 minutes plus meet and greet with cast.

:: Most suitable for: 
3 to 14 years and families

:: Venue: 
Alliance Française Theatre

:: Creatives: 
Written and Directed by Brian Seward.

Music composed by and arranged by Bang Wenfu

For more information on the play, you can also visit their website. 

Disclaimer: We were invited to watch the play in order to give our opinion of it. I was not compensated for this post.