(Ameera Patel)
Theatre at its best!
(Review by Keith Millar)
Normally, the only
occasion I go to children’s theatre is to take my grandson. I find that it is
often rather stereotyped and a bit boring - and one only derives satisfaction
through the enjoyment of the little ones.
The reason,
therefore, that I attended a children’s theatre production at the Hilton Arts
Festival was to experience a full cross-section of what was available – and to
support a friend who is part of the Assitej organisation which brought the play
to the Festival.
So it was with some
trepidation that I joined the audience to see a performance of Rat Race.
Well, I needn’t have
worried. It was in every respect a most entertaining, charming and clever
production, and the performance by the cast of two was captivating.
Rat Race is presented by the innovative Well Worn Theatre Company from
Johannesburg, is devised and directed by Kyla Davis and features Ameera Patel
and Roberto Pombo.
Pombo is Myles a
stressed-out city rat. His hectic lifestyle is making him ill so he goes on
holiday to the countryside to get some fresh air, and to learn to take it easy.
There he meets Melissa (Ameera Patel) a kind and relaxed farm mouse. Initially, their
different approaches to life result in them clashing. But slowly they learn
from each other and eventually become firm friends.
The production is billed as a pop-up storybook play
while it also reminded me of a whacky TV cartoon with plenty of visual gags and
sound effects. Music, clowning, puppetry and physical theatre are all used in
the telling of the delightful and comic tale. It also teaches lessons of
tolerance, change and friendship.
The characters elicit plenty of chirps and heckling
from the youngsters in the audience and both actors do a good job of embracing
this as part of the production.
The absolute star of this show is the very clever set.
It consists of a flat which has a city scene on one side and a farmhouse on the
other. It has trap doors, flaps, pop-outs and pull downs, and all manner of
props used in the production are produced from its depths. It is an innovative
and masterful theatrical contraption.
The publicity for Rat
Race suggests that it is aimed at children from four to six. However, the
show I attended had many parents and even grandparents in the audience and to
the man they were entranced, charmed and amused.
Rat Race is theatre
at its best!
For more information on the annual Hilton Arts Festival
visit https://www.hiltonfestival.co.za
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