Switch Witchetty’s Almanac of Everything continues at theSpace @ Surgeon’s Hall, Edinburgh until 25 August 2019.
Star rating: three stars ★ ★ ★ ✩ ✩
‘When we tell stories, we become them’ leads into this story about stories. Told by a trio of white-face clown characters (in the truest meaning as opposed to ‘big top’) this Australian group captivates its young audience. The trio can play any character that appears by wearing particular clothes or expressions assigned to the character – hence, the ‘switch’.
The simplicity of the ‘play’ is easily understood by the young – the notion that if you wear a crown it means you’re a king. No matter who wears the crown, they are then playing the king. And so it works well here: it’s easy to envisage the children taking so many of the tricks and ideas to become a character and incorporate them into their own ‘play’.
Song and music are used to help the stories along: music is so important when dealing with abstract concepts for children as music helps them to understand a feeling, to form an opinion of what they are seeing and hearing. Perhaps a bit more repetition here and there could help as children love to ‘learn’ a new song-phrase or two.
Oddly enough, there are strong political messages in the tales told: building walls to divide kingdoms, socialist solutions and even distrust of people in public life are all tackled in the stories within the stories. Perhaps the notion of kingdoms uniting under one crown is particularly sensitive in Scotland right now, though!
An intimate and friendly setting keeps the wee ones in the audience onside, clearly enjoying the thrill of theatre. Long may it continue.
Fiona Orr
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