Once upon a time, there was an Ant, Ms. Antoinette Antonia Hill, who was
ever so busy and ever so diligent. Day after
day, she’d stock up on nuts to prepare for the cold, harsh winter. And then
there was Criminy Grass-hopper (with an hyphen as we were reminded in the play), who
spent his days singing and dancing and well, basically singing and dancing all
through the seasons…
I Theatre brings much ‘life’ to this wonderful production of the
classic Aesop Fable.
Joined by Bee 1 and Bee 2 who brought much laughter and
cheekiness to the play, this musical is highly entertaining with catchy songs
and audience participation. The Bees costumes were colourful and with their bright
personalities, they were clearly a favourite with the audience.
I really like the casting for the play. Erwin Shah Ismail, was very convincing
as Mr. Grasshopper – from his lanky frame to his costume, he played the role of
the free spirited grasshopper well.
Alecia Kim Chua, played the role of Ms. Antoinette to perfection and acted very much like the voice of conscience with
her constant attempts to chide and remind the playful
grasshopper to prepare for the cold months ahead.
I like that the play was fairly true to the original tale and I like I Theatre's take on the grasshopper and how his role resembles the rebel in us sometimes. At one point, the exasperated
grasshopper retaliated by asking the serious Ms. Antoinette if she has experienced
winter? "Have you seen it? How do you even know that it is real? What if all
these hard work is for nothing?”
Where little audience participation is usually expected from the local culture as Singaporeans
are, well, just not known to stand up and dance, this
55-minute musical had sporting parents standing up and grooving with their
kiddos.
There was adult humor with Bee 1 and Bee 2 playing on the
pun of many “Bee” words and the performance of Coccinella Septempunctata, a
ladybird, totally blew me away. From her flashy outfits (quite literally as you
will understand after watching the play) to her dramatic exits (no less than
3 times) which were synchronised with
drum beats, etc., she had me cracking up but be warned, she may not be everyone’s favourite cup of tea.
As with all of I Theatre's productions there is always much for the little ones to learn. From 'seasons' to 'life cycles / metamorphosis' (of the caterpillar), this production also touches on being receptive to changes, the value of friendship and importantly, hard work. At one point I saw a few parents leaning over to their kiddos and
whispering to them “you see, there is a time for work AND a time for play.” :) Yours truly included.
If you have not already caught it, I’d say grab your tickets quick! After all,
you cannot go wrong when almost 13,000 tickets have been sold and two shows have been added on due to the great response
received!
Date: 26 February - 18 March 2014
Duration: 55mins with no interval
Most suitable for: 3 to 12 years old and families!
Venue: Jubilee Hall, Raffles Hotel
You can purchase your tickets from Sistic here.
No comments:
Post a Comment