Brie Keatley
A wooden but nevertheless tittering pīwakawaka flits through the audience, playfully landing on delighted children as we enter the Pāteke room at Zealandia. This sets the scene wonderfully for the charming spectacle we are about to witness from Stringbean Puppet’s Flutter.
The narrative of Flutter follows Pepe, a native pekapeka, who is unfortunately afraid of the dark. This fear is conquered alongside his new friend Titi, a glowworm who thinks he is a star. First off, I am absolutely blown away at the intricacy of Anna Bailey’s gorgeous puppets. From the way a slug leaves a glittering tail of slime behind it as it inches around the room to the glowing lights adorning Titi, it is clear to me that Anna Bailey is a master puppet maker. The two main creatures are marionette puppets that are expertly operated by Bailey but I wish we could’ve had another performer that could bounce off of Bailey’s finesse. I also believe this would allow for more interaction between Pepe and Titi.
An important part of creating theatre for the young is making them feel involved. This was done well in Flutter. The audience is asked at the beginning if they would like to wear headbands with stars on them (as the show is set during the nighttime) which makes us into literal set pieces at the climax of the play. We are also involved in the aforementioned flight of the pīwakawaka, although not included in the show, I believe it was a welcomed way to set the world of the piece. I could see many small mouths agape watching the wooden puppet land near or on them. These are the kinds of things you like to see to encourage young theatre goers.
In my experience, there are two almost foolproof ways to tell if a child has enjoyed a piece of theatre aimed at them. One, they are responding enthusiastically when interacted with by the performers and two, they are silent during the emotionally heavy moments of the piece. I saw both of these moments happen in Flutter. Bailey knows her audience and held them so gently throughout the show, even instructing them how to interact with her puppets if they were approached by them during the show. It is so genuinely heartwarming as a fellow theatre for the young creator to see a room full of tamariki engage so earnestly with such a beautiful show.
You can see Flutter one more time in the Fringe Festival on the 8th of March at Zealandia. The show is a koha entry with the proceeds going directly to Zealandia.
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An important part of creating theatre for the young is making them feel involved. This was done well in Flutter. The audience is asked at the beginning if they would like to wear headbands with stars on them (as the show is set during the nighttime) which makes us into literal set pieces at the climax of the play. We are also involved in the aforementioned flight of the pīwakawaka, although not included in the show, I believe it was a welcomed way to set the world of the piece. I could see many small mouths agape watching the wooden puppet land near or on them. These are the kinds of things you like to see to encourage young theatre goers.
In my experience, there are two almost foolproof ways to tell if a child has enjoyed a piece of theatre aimed at them. One, they are responding enthusiastically when interacted with by the performers and two, they are silent during the emotionally heavy moments of the piece. I saw both of these moments happen in Flutter. Bailey knows her audience and held them so gently throughout the show, even instructing them how to interact with her puppets if they were approached by them during the show. It is so genuinely heartwarming as a fellow theatre for the young creator to see a room full of tamariki engage so earnestly with such a beautiful show.
You can see Flutter one more time in the Fringe Festival on the 8th of March at Zealandia. The show is a koha entry with the proceeds going directly to Zealandia.
⭐⭐⭐⭐