8 April 2009, Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall, London
You feed us. You wash us. You dress us. You sing to us. You watch us sleep. You make us promises and sometimes hope we will not remember them. You tell us stories you hope will frighten us, but not too much. You try to tell us about the world. You explain to us the different causes of illness and the different causes of war. You whisper when you think we can’t hear. You explain to us that night follows day.
I absolutely adore kids and upon reading the manuscript, I knew that this show was a must-see. Plus it had gotten great reviews.
And yes, it was absolutely fantastic. The kids in it were amazing. The concentration, the synchronization, their kid-ness yet maturity, the patience, the timing.. it was astonishing. The director really did an outstanding job in teaching them how to pace their lines and the tones to use… and how much work must it have taken to learn the entire script? Their were a few kids in it that were so cheeky, it was so cute. And it was so genuine when they played.
It’s so nice to see children works. I wonder how different it would’ve been had it been in English (instead of in Flemish with English surtitles)? How much of it was lost in translation? How much anticipation would it have reduced?
On that note, it would be really cool to see this show YAF-style: half English, half Chinese. Hmm.. I really want to work with kids. 🙂
Eat Your Art Out 