For Families Reviews 2007

Little Howard - Little Howard

Howard Read and Little Howard

The tradition of adult male comedians being accompanied by imaginary child sidekicks is an old and respected one. Where would all the ventriloquists of yore have been with out a 'boy' sitting on their knee and interacting with them?

Comedian and animator Howard Read brings this concept bang up to date with this funny and original show as he performs alongside his cartoon friend, Little Howard, a slightly bolshy kid who remonstrates with him from a screen. The interaction between Big Howard and Little Howard is well realised, and it is a testament to the larger version's skill as an animator that this works so well. At one point two young audience members are also incorporated into the action. Like any good children's comedian, Read gets the balance right between silly stuff for the young ones and slightly more risqué jokes for their parents. I particularly enjoyed their interchange where Little Howard is jealous of Big Howard's real-life baby son, Sampson.

It has to be said that there were one or two technical issues in the performance, and the main thrust of the 'Pencil of Life and Death' narrative was a little sketchy at times. However, this added a spontaneity to what, given its technical nature could have seen over-rehearsed otherwise, and Big Howard rose to the challenge like any good stand-up. Apart from one little girl who got frightened early on, the young audience lapped up the show (there was even one lad who will grow into an expert heckler in later years, I fear) and the adults were also charmed by this highly entertaining show.

Robbie Carnegie

Buxton Museum and Art Gallery - Roman Thank Yous

Roman votive plaque (replica)  Credit: Derbyshire County Council

"Roman Thank Yous" is part of National Archaeology Week, which is going on all over Britain.

Firstly Penny Kill took us through the museum to see a collection of "Roman Thank Yous" which are metal plaques with pictures and symbols representing something that the Romans wanted to say thank you for. She then told us how to make plaques of our own using card, foil and an interesting range of different materials.

This was a very hands-on event that stretched the imagination and required a great deal of original ideas. The kids produced some amazing work and I could tell by the smiles on the faces of the children that they enjoyed every minute of it.

Although it was fun to make the plaque, I would have liked to have found out more about the Romans and what kind of things they said thanks for and who to. Also if Penny had given us more ideas I think that the younger ones particularly would have achieved a lot more.

All in all I think that it is fair to say that every one had fun and came home with a superb plaque either to hang on your wall or give to a friend or relative - I gave mine to my aunt as a thank you for her visit to the Fringe.

Annie Osborne (age 12)

The Black Sheep - FairLy Tales

FairLy Tales

There are few agreed rules of the art, or if you prefer mayhem, that is improvisational theatre except a golden one: to act always on your audiences' and fellow actors' suggestions. The Black Sheep, Andrew Jones and Ciaran Murtagh, obey this nugget as if salvation and the big, belly laughs are their promised reward (... and the latter they earn in abundance). FairLy Tales is a boundless frolic that seeks out and follows hilarious stories wherever they may lead.

The sketchy premise for this riotous storytelling session is the destruction of a famous author's books by his inept assistant. The truth is that the plot is breathtakingly and spontaneously shaped from a suitcase of props, audience suggestions and the wonderful inventiveness of these two energetic performers. I suspect that there are no two shows alike, but you are guaranteed plenty of "can't-help-yourself" laughter and the confirmation that appealing, nonsensical tales make anything possible.

Kids bring your parents; this is a delight for all!

Mala Bhaumik

Bookstore Brierlow Bar - Outer Fringe Environmental Zone

Just 25% of our floor space. approx 20,000 bargain titles in stock

This is one of our Festivals within the Fringe, something we've a long tradition of supporting. In the past we've had Jazz Festivals, Film Festivals and this year we have a Roots Music Festival and an Environmental Festival. Splendid! For the price of one entry these Festivals within the Fringe get a whole array of events; the disadvantage is that description in our programme is limited so they have to get their details out there in secondary programmes. Consequently although there was a low turnout last night I felt that for 15 people to turn up to what looked in the Fringe Programme like a three hour lecture on the environment was a tribute to their dedication to the cause.

In fact the evening was divided into two talks and your reviewer took in the first by the renowned local wildlife artist Pollyanna Pickering. This consisted of a slide show of the trip she took with her daughter in 1994 to visit Panda reserves in China. Its title is Giant Pandas and Sleeping Dragons. Pollyanna has given many of these shows to enthusiastic Women's Institutes, Rotarians, schools and the like around the country.

The show consisted of many slides covering the journey and the pairs' experiences. Much was made of the poverty of the Chinese, their curiosity with regard to westerners and the inadequacy of their food hygiene and sanitary arrangements. I for one was grateful that none of the Chinese community was in the audience but they would no doubt have taken comfort from the extraordinary generosity shown to the Pickerings despite the poverty of the hosts.

The true stars of the show were of course the Pandas themselves. I found the little Red Panda which the more poetic Chinese call the Firefox particularly endearing. A close second in the stardom stakes is the extraordinary wild beauty of the terrain in the mountains of Sichuan where the reserves are. They alone are worth the price of inadequate showering arrangements.

The Panda is of course the most sentimentally attractive of endangered species and as most of us know Pollyanna's paintings express this to the maximum. The process of sketching and then creating the finished paintings (gouache on black paper) was fully explained and illustrated. Some mention was made of the environmental issues in Panda preservation but it was clearly difficult to restructure a talk that had originally been conceived with a different aim in mind.

John Wilson