Brie Keatley
What does it mean to be alone? What is death? And where does the sun go when it sets? All these questions are grappled with by Robert Lloyd in his mystifying first original piece There once was a boy.
Upon entrance, I am immediately struck by the traverse staging in the Dome at BATS. Not only does it increase the already innate intimacy of a solo show but it’s extremely rare to see a show aimed at the young use traverse staging. I love this challenge of tradition. The channel created by the seating allows Lloyd to expertly address the audience with gusto and even sit in with us at times. The way Lloyd’s performance ebbs and flows between the raging waves and calming waters works perfectly with the subject matter of a young boy stuck on a boat in a storm. The ease with which Lloyd switches between the loud anger of not having the answers to his questions and thoughtful introspection provides beautiful light and shade to a show that asks such big questions. This performance is expertly supported by the lights (Emma Maguire) that not only show the setting of the sun (and how endless the days on the boat become) but seem to reflect the boy in the boat’s mood as they turn red when Lloyd explodes with the aforementioned anger. A show whose performance works in tandem with its tech rather than fighting it is always entertaining to see.
Lloyd is supported onstage by the absolutely gorgeous ‘pop-up book’ set and puppets (Anne Lisa Noordover). Each piece is carefully crafted out of cardboard and fabric and adds such a beautiful and childlike aesthetic to the whole piece. I was particularly taken by the ornate sail boat that hangs from the rig for most of the piece. It is ominous yet sets the scene of where our main character is for most of the show.
The sound design (Nathan Arnott) that underpins a lot of our scenes is dynamic but has an ominous and slightly gloomy throughline that never overwhelms the actions, it instead aids it. The found quality of some of the sound effects (e.g the waves and an old radio) are particularly haunting. I do question the need for heavy use of voice over as I believe it would have been more entertaining for Lloyd to do these live seeing as he is such a great performer. Specifically the times when the voice over was used to differentiate character, I would have loved to see Lloyd do this live. However, this did not draw away from the show/performance in any way.
There once was a boy is an eerie yet introspective piece of solo theatre that had me (and the tweens/teens in the audience) entranced. The existential questions hit that awkward age of early teens in a perfect way that allows them to reflect but not be spoken down to. Furthermore, Lloyd is such an engaging performer that I’m now actively looking to watch him in whatever I can. This show will go a long way and will be cherished by tweens and teens, I am sure of it.
There once was a boy is on at BATS Theatre as part of the Tahi Festival from Wednesday the 10th to Saturday the 13th of September. You can buy your tickets here.
Lloyd is supported onstage by the absolutely gorgeous ‘pop-up book’ set and puppets (Anne Lisa Noordover). Each piece is carefully crafted out of cardboard and fabric and adds such a beautiful and childlike aesthetic to the whole piece. I was particularly taken by the ornate sail boat that hangs from the rig for most of the piece. It is ominous yet sets the scene of where our main character is for most of the show.
The sound design (Nathan Arnott) that underpins a lot of our scenes is dynamic but has an ominous and slightly gloomy throughline that never overwhelms the actions, it instead aids it. The found quality of some of the sound effects (e.g the waves and an old radio) are particularly haunting. I do question the need for heavy use of voice over as I believe it would have been more entertaining for Lloyd to do these live seeing as he is such a great performer. Specifically the times when the voice over was used to differentiate character, I would have loved to see Lloyd do this live. However, this did not draw away from the show/performance in any way.
There once was a boy is an eerie yet introspective piece of solo theatre that had me (and the tweens/teens in the audience) entranced. The existential questions hit that awkward age of early teens in a perfect way that allows them to reflect but not be spoken down to. Furthermore, Lloyd is such an engaging performer that I’m now actively looking to watch him in whatever I can. This show will go a long way and will be cherished by tweens and teens, I am sure of it.
There once was a boy is on at BATS Theatre as part of the Tahi Festival from Wednesday the 10th to Saturday the 13th of September. You can buy your tickets here.