Tinkerbell and the Dream Fairies, Jan 4, 2018 ***1/2

CHILDREN’S THEATRE 

By Glenn Elston with music by Paul Norton, Australian Shakespeare Company

At Athenaeum 2, until Jan 28, 2018 
Reviewer: Kate Herbert
Stars: ***1/2

Review also published in Herald Sun Arts online on Fri Jan 5, 2018 & in print on Tues Jan 9, 2018. KH

Lauren Ferreira as Tinkerbell 2018 - pic Nicole Cleary

Little kids love fairies and magical adventures, so Glenn Elston merging Tinkerbell from Peter Pan with the Fairies from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream is an inspired idea for a children’s show.

Previously, these free-spirited Fairies frolicked in the Botanical Gardens, but this season they are indoors on a stage decorated like a fairy garden, and the children participate in the Fairies’ dancing, singing and games.

Although some are shy at first, the children get into the spirit with gentle encouragement from Tinkerbell (played with strength and grace by Lauren Ferreira) and the Dream Fairies: Moth (Sue-Ellen Shook), Mustardseed (James Coley), Peasblossom (Tess Branchflower), Cobweb (Cierra Shook) and Cupcake, the MC (Coleman Shook).

The story is simple: the lost Dream Fairies try to find their way back to Dreamland and their Fairy Queen, while Tinkerbell searches for her lost fairy wings.

On their journey, the Fairies perform perky choreography (Sue-Ellen Shook) and sing cheery songs (Paul Norton) about getting lost, journeying and the origin of fairies, while the children clap along, mimic gestures, flap their wings and wave their wands.

In one charming tune, the Fairies sing, ‘Come with us and find a happy place’, while the achingly cute children dance along. Later, the kids make animal noises during a bouncy, percussive song with the alliterative lyrics, ‘Boombakka Boom Boom Boom’.

By chanting ‘a twinkle and a twinkle and a clap of the hands’, we are transported to Bubble Land where the soap bubble machine is a huge hit with young and old alike.

After the children wave their wands furiously, do star jumps and wish like mad, Tinkerbell’s wings magically reappear and are reattached in a ceremony conducted by a sturdy and adorable toddler called Jasper.

Adults may recognise lines from Peter Pan and Shakespeare, but Tinkerbell and the Dream Fairies is a vivacious, effervescent show designed for small children.

By Kate Herbert

 

(L-R) Sue-Ellen Shook, Tess Branchflower, James Coley, Lauren Ferreira, Cierra Shook- 2018 pic Nicole Cleary

Audience at Tinkerbell