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Taiwan Season: Once Upon a Daydream

Once Upon a Daydream, produced by Sun Son Theatre, bursts with life and colour. A show which will appeal to adults and children alike (four upwards). Live actors and musicians on stage interact and slide in and out of the fantasy world of a lonely young girl in pursuit of love.

High tech is not needed for a successful show - just imagination, fun and humour.

Primary colours and child-like drawings of the girl's bedroom, bubbling sounds as a goldfish swims in a bowl, and a human face with an animated black tear tracing a way down her cheek appear on screen to set the scene. Chuang Hui Yun starred as the young girl on the day this reviewer saw it (there are two separate casts), wearing an enormous black curly wig. Notable was the character of a cheeky postman, Ng Cheng Han, in a yellow costume and round hat with beak. Both are irrespressibly lively, with cartoon-like exaggerated movements and constantly surprised faces.

Back home from her office job, the action becomes increasingly crazy as Chuang sings, using a pink lavatory plunger as her microphone. This evokes two boy band singers wiwth black curly wigs, who then disappear as she wakes up from a dream. There is a wonderful sequence as Chuang tries on outfits, wich is played over her body as she stands in front of a screen. The fun really starts when she transforms into the goldfish, her costume a white body suit with a few pink scales and delightful long, floating gills. But again, she is disappointed in her search for love. Internet dating is her next adventure, as she encounters a scary fox-like creature. Pink balloons in the shape of hearts float by only to pop. But there is a happy ending, of course, as she finds her true love is the boy next door.

The upbeat rhythm of the live percussion band, accompanied by synthesized music, add jollity throughout the production. The musician's expressive faces impress, and the superb, imaginative animation is doubly impressive for being hand-drawn. This proves that high tech is not needed for a successful show – just imagination, fun and humour.

Reviews by Stephanie Green

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Since you’re here…

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You can donate to the charity of your choice, but if you're looking for inspiration, there are three charities we really like.

Mama Biashara
Kate Copstick’s charity, Mama Biashara, works with the poorest and most marginalised people in Kenya. They give grants to set up small, sustainable businesses that bring financial independence and security. That five quid you spend on a large glass of House White? They can save someone’s life with that. And the money for a pair of Air Jordans? Will take four women and their fifteen children away from a man who is raping them and into a new life with a moneymaking business for Mum and happiness for the kids.
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Performances

Location

The Blurb

Bouncy, colourful, single female, employed but bored and lonely, seeks love and laughter. Sun Son Theatre welcomes you to a light-hearted world of live action and handcrafted animation, where the line between real life and fantasy is sweetly blurred and dreams can come true. Originally created by visual artist/actor Liu Wan Chun, this disarming show conjures up home as a safe but possibly confining place of salty tears and sugar water, bathroom karaoke and a mermaid alter ego who isn't at all as ugly as she might sometimes feel.
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