Brie Keatley
It’s school holidays once again, you know what that means? Another high quality children’s show at Circa Theatre, of course! I am delighted to see Mr Fungus Dreams (directed by Amalia Calder and Thom Monckton) on a blustery Saturday morning. The packed audience of Circa Two is mainly made up of those of the kindy-going age, none the less we are all entranced and entertained by the impressive performance of Fergus Aitken as the titular Mr Fungus.
A simple stage is set when the lights dim. An armchair, a coat rack, and a small fridge. We are in Mr. Fungus’ living room and he is here to show us all the tricks he can do. Aitken treats the audience as active participants, asking for praise in the form of claps and cheers when he sees through a tricky part of clowning choreo or even getting an audience member to help him throw a hat on his head. This keeps the littles in the audience constantly involved as they feel they are not passive watchers but included in on all the fun that is happening onstage.
I have seen clowning looked down upon in theatre circles (ridiculously), considered lowbrow or easy hanging fruit. I would now direct any person talking such absolute nonsense to watch Aitken’s skilful clown work. After watching this show, it’s no wonder to me that a lot of emerging theatre makers are inspired by his particular prowess in clowning. Of particular note is his entrancing prop work. The beginning of the show relies heavily on just an actor working with several inanimate objects, often a tricky task, but one Aitken handles expertly. The mundanity of opening a milk bottle is suddenly a full body task, greeted by shrieks of laughter and even a call of ‘That’s so dangerous!’ from the audience.
My favourite part of the entire performance is a sequence lit only in blue light, thanks to the lighting design of Marcus McShane and operation of Niamh Campbell-Ward. Aitken and his stage team of Rosier Mazur and Mike Ainsworth puppeteering various objects and animals painted in fluorescents to portray apart of the dream Mr. Fungus is having. I love puppets. Love them. If I’m coming into a show not expecting puppets and I get puppets… I’m having a good time in the theatre. I’m not exaggerating when I say that every member of the audience was in awe of this sequence. It expertly showed the cerebral dreamscape mixed with the fantastical clowning the Mr Fungus team has become known for.
As a lovely end, Aitken stands in front of the audience and says that he and the Mr Fungus and friends team really wanted to make a piece of theatre that was fun and light hearted because that’s what we need today. I believe thoroughly that the whole team has achieved this goal.
Mr Fungus Dreams is on at Circa Theatre until Saturday the 7th of October with very limited tickets available.
I have seen clowning looked down upon in theatre circles (ridiculously), considered lowbrow or easy hanging fruit. I would now direct any person talking such absolute nonsense to watch Aitken’s skilful clown work. After watching this show, it’s no wonder to me that a lot of emerging theatre makers are inspired by his particular prowess in clowning. Of particular note is his entrancing prop work. The beginning of the show relies heavily on just an actor working with several inanimate objects, often a tricky task, but one Aitken handles expertly. The mundanity of opening a milk bottle is suddenly a full body task, greeted by shrieks of laughter and even a call of ‘That’s so dangerous!’ from the audience.
My favourite part of the entire performance is a sequence lit only in blue light, thanks to the lighting design of Marcus McShane and operation of Niamh Campbell-Ward. Aitken and his stage team of Rosier Mazur and Mike Ainsworth puppeteering various objects and animals painted in fluorescents to portray apart of the dream Mr. Fungus is having. I love puppets. Love them. If I’m coming into a show not expecting puppets and I get puppets… I’m having a good time in the theatre. I’m not exaggerating when I say that every member of the audience was in awe of this sequence. It expertly showed the cerebral dreamscape mixed with the fantastical clowning the Mr Fungus team has become known for.
As a lovely end, Aitken stands in front of the audience and says that he and the Mr Fungus and friends team really wanted to make a piece of theatre that was fun and light hearted because that’s what we need today. I believe thoroughly that the whole team has achieved this goal.
Mr Fungus Dreams is on at Circa Theatre until Saturday the 7th of October with very limited tickets available.