For two weeks, I have been working as a steward for 'In The Night Garden Live' in an inflatable dome in Richmond Old Deer Park. My initial attraction to this role was definitely the idea of a theatre buoyed up by air and plastic that is entirely reliant on a couple of power generators. I was also intrigued by a style of theatre that is fantastical - a TV show made real - that is created for an audience who don't care whether we are in or out of a recession or how much MPs get paid. The key concerns in this show are whether Igglepiggle will find his blanket and whether Makka Pakka will find his sponge. The simplicity is beautiful, the relationships uncomplicated. It is designed for enjoyment and nothing more, which, as I have previously written in response to musical theatre productions, definitely has an important place in the world of theatre.
What I didn't know I would look forward to each day, however, is seeing the childrens' responses to the show. Of course their parents give a loud cheer at all the right points and give whoops of surprise, but it is mostly for their child's benefit. But the kids, what they see provokes utter, honest delight. My favourite moment, consistently, is when the curtains part to reveal Upsy Daisy for the first time. I turn around to watch the audience and see little ones leap from their seats, joy on their faces, pointing at the stage. What they see is Upsy Daisy, in the real Night Garden, enjoying her daily activities. When Makka Pakka washes everybody's faces, real soap bubbles come out of his sponge. When the Ninky Nonk train comes on stage, as far as anybody's concerned, it is moving autonomously. In short, the show is magical, and the best thing is that a child does not doubt that.
The show is perfectly tailored to calm or excite children in just the right measure. Enough to make them laugh, but not (always) so much that they are bouncing out of their seats and clambering onto the stage. Also, at 50 minutes, neither the parents nor little ones have time to become restless or bored. Instead, a hyperactive child enters the auditorium and a happy, serene one leaves. Indeed, the storyline is weak by an adult's standard, but I'm not sure it is the storyline that the children are captured by. What exactly it is that draws them towards the show, I don't know for sure. Is it the spectacle? The characters? Or just the fact that mummy strapped them into a push chair with their Makka Pakka plush and put them on a train? I remember going to see Wizadora (who remembers her?) in a live show when I was two years' old, meeting her, and being totally overwhelmed by the fact that it was the real Wizadora in front of me, signing my photograph. Is it just that the line between fantasy and reality does not yet exist at that age?
Either way, children's theatre does something that is amazing. Not only does it get children interested in theatre from a very young age, but it provides them, in this case, with a whole new dimension to their favourite film or TV show. I'm sure you'll agree, no matter how advanced we become with 3D and HD technology, that it is something that a box in a living room will never be able compete with. If 'In The Night Garden Live' is any kind of example, creating this effect is actually a more complex recipe than the simple storyline would suggest. But get it right, as this show does, and it's an incredible thing to behold, regardless of whether you're 4 or 40.
