By Ron Bingham
Packed house to see this show (probably 60:40 kids to adults ratio). Well it turned out to be very much created for children with not only a panto element, but an interactive roleplaying vibe. It’s a show for kids of nerds!
Our host/apprentice hero, Dave, explains that we are there to help him become a proper Hero and we will all be elevated to hero status as well, for our help. We have to complete six tasks, which include; obtaining a diamond from a Stone Troll – Emma from the audience volunteered to help with this and obtaining the horn from a unicorn – Ellie was determined to be chosen for this task, she was almost on stage before help was asked for and she’ll have her own show at the fringe in ten years no doubt! Other tasks were collecting some gold from the griffin’s nest, taking a dream from a Japanese Dream Thief, Baku that looked like a cross between a gremlin and an elephant, making a deal with The Tooth Fairy, and taking a tooth from a dragon, who was the real showstopper.
Once these tasks have been completed, the deer spirit of the forest will come and confer hero status on us. Unless a disaster occurs right at the end. But that couldn’t happen, could it?
The audience were loud and shrieking with delight and laughter at the appearance of each magical creature and a marvellous time was had by all. The huge puppets really were jaw droppingly gorgeous and the visible puppeteers seemed to be having almost as much fun as the kids. The English have a proud panto tradition and are great at entertaining kids and adults alike. Twas an excellent start to the day. Hussah!
Dragons and Mythical Beasts is on at Underbelly, Bristo Square
https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/dragons-and-mythical-beasts