Andy Day, of Cbeebies fame, and Mike James deserve a standing ovation for their efforts to save parents from having to entertain their children on a rainy Sunday morning in Edinburgh. They opened by welcoming ‘boys and girls, mums and dads, aunts and uncles, grannies and grandpas’ and considering I fall into none of those categories, I was apprehensive at best as to how I would fare through this.
We were taken on a quest back in time and encountered the Egyptians, cowboys in the Wild West and knights in shining armour. This was done through colourful costumes, audience interaction, catchy songs and accompanying dance moves, toilet humour, parental humiliation and the requisite number of clever jokes that roll gently over the heads of their young audience. I couldn’t help but smile and enjoy myself.
Andy and Mike approached their 50 minute show with boundless effort and enthusiasm, but unfortunately given the tough market that is children’s theatre, the time did occasionally drag. There were lulls in pace especially during sometimes lengthy set changes. Yet despite this, there were continual ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ of wonder when the vibrant and very cleverly created, scenes were, eventually, unveiled.
Given the smiles and giggles of the children around me, I would bet they would journey back in time again. With two sell out shows coming up over the next few days, I suspect that Andy and Mike have got a good deal more time travelling to come.
