“A fun family show.“
Louise Mason
3.5 talented bugs
Seymour Centre
Presented by the London based String Theatre, The Insect Circus merges the wonderful art of traditional long-string marionette puppetry and the old fashioned ‘Barnum-styled’ circuses.
The Reginald stage is designed to accentuate the tiny insect marionette set. It is a gorgeous set but i am not sure what the back half of the audience felt as the stage and action are small. The centuries old skill of marionette puppetry is a rare skill and it’s a joy, as an adult, to watch each circus act presented with extraordinary artistry. The craftsmanship of each insect was beautiful and the commissioned music score perfectly accentuated and complimented each act. Keeping the attention span of the little ones was aided by a sense of comedy and whimsy that was woven into the show. Our four year old was entranced by the action and continued to explain to his mum what all the insects were and what they were doing. I asked my four year old to tell me what he saw “There was a big butterfly, and a praying mantis on a bike and a caterpillar that turned into the butterfly”. “My favourite was the beetle, it looked the most like a real beetle” “and they juggled the balls”. His obsession with insects definitely accentuated his enjoyment.
Running at around 35 minutes this will not loose the focus of the young ones although, again, i am not sure how easy it would have been for the younger ones up the back. If your child has a love of things that creep and crawl like ours, then this show is well suited for them.
A fun family show.
Louise Mason, Theatre Now
