Children's Events Reviews
COMICS VS KIDS - Art of Comedy
Led by Nik Coppin this is a competition between three comedians and all the kids in the audience.
After an introduction by Nik, kids volunteered to tell a joke individually and a nominated adult was selected to out-funny the joke. We had a few rounds of this with the kids winning easily on all rounds. What do sharks and computers have in common? (Megabites!). What do you call a snake with no clothes? (Snaked!). There were intervals where Kevin O’Brien (The ABC of One Liner Jokes) and Zoe Bury (It's Not Straightforward) gave a short set with their own jokes and then we had a ‘true or false’ round.
The best parts were the audience interactions prompted by Nik in which lots of the kids were eager to take part. Two girls were not content to give the answer but insisted on telling us more facts about Orcas, Starfish and Octopuses etc. which rather took Nik aback.
The final round was a 'Disney Tune' round which looked tricky for the kids as Zoe was a self proclaimed expert on Disney. However the kids prevailed and everything depended on identifying the last tune. This was the most familiar 'Frozen' theme and the kids screamed out the answer while Nik pretended not to hear. This raised the temperature in an already hot Underground Venues in Spring Gardens and had he delayed their answer any longer then he might have been torn limb from limb by the excited kids.
Review approved by Leo Kirman (aged 5)
Brian Kirman
DR JONES FUNNY BONES - Jeannie Jones
A bubbly woman in scrubs and with a stethoscope round her neck takes to the stage of Underground Venues, asking her enthralled family audience ‘What job do you think I do?’ Yes, you’ve guessed it, she’s a doctor, and Jeannie Jones is on a mission to bring fun and laughter to the world of medicine.
As you might expect, being a children’s show, this is a great excuse for lots of poo, wee, fart and bogie jokes (which the audience were delighted by), but also a way of getting lots of really interesting information across. I for one never knew that people generally are either defined by producing sulphur farts or methane farts (sorry, this is probably the most I’ve ever used that word in a review – although it is in the name of education!). There was also a catchy song all about the bones of the body, which everyone willingly joined in with, aided by her skeleton friend, Mr Funny Bones.
Jeannie Jones is a natural communicator, and her infectious enthusiasm for her subject transferred effortlessly to her enthralled to her audience. High metacarpals all round!
Robbie Carnegie
THE GREAT BUXTON BILBERRY BUMBLEBEE HUNT - BCHT and Friends of Buxton Station
This a great idea to get kids (and their parents) involved in something both green and orange! To highlight the importance of bees as pollinators so vital to life on earth, Buxton Crescent Heritage Trust have teamed up with Friends of Buxton Station, as well as quite a few local businesses, to provide a fun way of finding out more about bees. It takes the form of a trail through Buxton where kids can spot clues which help solve a puzzle about the Queen. If that’s not all, there’s a bee-themed prize on offer too!
It's an ideal way for families especially with younger kids to learn about bees, keep those steps up and support the Fringe – a win win win situation! Do set aside a good amount of time as there are clues all over the place.
There’s also a bee safari on Thursday 10th starting at the railway station at 3.pm which you need to book – email fobs.buxton@gmail.com
You can pick up a form from the Pump Room on the children’s book case and off you go! Top tip – you need to be good with anagrams…
Ian Parker Heath
GRIMM'S FAIRER TALES - Stories Alive / Sweet Productions
Elsewhere at this year’s Fringe, storyteller Eden Ballantyne is bringing his gory, scary versions of fairy tales to an adult audience (Buckets of Blood), but for this delightful show, Eden aims squarely at a younger audience, bringing three of the Brothers Grimm’s most famous tales to life for children and families, but with his own unique spin on them.
Taking as a starting point the fact that many of the Grimm tales were assembled not by the Brothers, but by their Sister, this show takes the stories of Red Riding Hood, Hansel & Gretel and Rumpelstiltskin and gives back some agency to the characters therein. Red Riding Hood, for example, is a girl quite capable of defending herself from a Big Bad Wolf, the ‘Witch’ is a misunderstood, lonely baker, picked on by the slacker 20-somethings Hansel & Gretel while the Miller’s Daughter in Rumpelstiltskin (given the name ‘Melon’ by a young audience member) is far more competent at running the kingdom than the monarch.
Eden is a masterful storyteller and draws the audience into the worlds he creates with the simplest of props and his abilities at weaving a plot. The stories are gently modernised, with a little bit of light politicisation along the way, and there’s plenty of chances for audience participation. Eden is great company for an hour on a warm afternoon, and his renditions of these classic tales deserve a larger audience to really bring them to life. Try something a little different (whatever your age) and give them a go.
Robbie Carnegie
IRISH STORYTELLING FOR CHILDREN - Neysa Killeen
A delightful hour in the easy company of Neysa Killeen. Settle into one of the chairs, or pick a floor cushion, and Neysa takes you through four stories from Irish folklore. Escape into a world of giant dogs, magic horses, battles, magic kingdoms, warriors, queens, kings and where a salmon can give you an answer to 'why?'.
Although they span over 300 years in the telling, the characters are interconnected providing a unifying thread. Neysa weaved in interaction with the audience, with some cues and responses for us to join in with. There were objects related to the stories for the children to hold and explore, including a sliotar (if you don’t know, you’ll have to go to find out!) Otherwise, the stories were simply told, and always engaging. She kept the attention of her audience; adults and children alike for the full hour. And the children were happy to talk about their favourite story and character at the end.
Neysa was very welcoming, and encouraged people to stay at the end if they wished to talk about the stories, ask questions, etc, making it a very relaxed unhurried event.
Scrivener’s Bookshop is of course the perfect setting for storytelling. Surrounded by books, the cosy, light first floor space – where you’ll find lots of children’s books – is a welcome retreat. And of course, afterwards you’ve every excuse to browse and find a story to take home for later!
Maria Carnegie
SCHOOL'S OUT COMEDY CLUB - Philip Simon
Fresh from his win at the Buxton Fringe awards, comedian Philip Simon has returned with a great stand-up set aimed at the younger end of the audience spectrum. In School’s Out Comedy Club, Simon proves himself a joke machine, with laughs being perhaps familiar to the grown-ups but delightful to children – indeed many of them had been provided by children during Lockdown. Simon also encourages the younger audience members to come up onstage and deliver their own favourite gag (some with the inherent illogicality that only the very young can bring to these things).
It’s a great format, and Philip Simon is a likeable and naturally winning personality, the material bringing chuckles to young and old alike. It is a show that relies on interaction with the audience and, on the first performance, with only one family in attendance, he had to contend with what you could call a ‘tough crowd’. It is a mark of Simon’s skill that he worked this crowd round, even encouraging one initially reluctant young person to tell their joke. Comedians are forged in adversity and Philip Simon showed that he has the experience and personality to keep an audience engaged. With a larger crowd, there’s no doubt that he’d blow the roof off with his brand of child-friendly humour.
Robbie Carnegie
TALL TALES - REC Youth Theatre
What a wonderful morning was spent with REC Youth Theatre. The setting in Grinlow Woods was a magical space where tales of bravery and adventure unfolded before our eyes.
First up was the older company with a confident telling of the old Russian folktale ‘The Soldier and Death’. Now I admit the title doesn’t sound cheery however the storytelling was funny, vibrant and full of life and energy. Despite being in the woods, audibility was good.
Obviously, REC being closely associated with the Babbling Vagabonds sees puppetry and props an integral part of the show. My favourite scene was the soldier playing cards with devils, the sheer joy pouring out of that scene was felt by the large audience. The actors’ skill in puppeteering and using their voices to interpret character was outstanding. Excellent comedic skills were shown by the cast; the old people cheated of death spring to mind. Characterisation skills by all were consistently impressive throughout.
The second group started with a shout and the younger RECers running down past the audience and into the acting arena. Their Tall Tale was ‘The Devil and the Three Golden Hairs’ a lesser-known tale collected by The Brother’s Grimm. Again, the ensemble work was exemplary, their ability to create a troublesome pokey bush was hilarious. The standout moments were the very murdery King finally getting his comeuppance, the unicorn rescuing Lucky and the devil having a very bad day!
I can’t single out any single performer as both these groups worked as a true theatrical ensemble, looking out for each other, giving each other confidence and performing with fantastic characterisation skills.
You can next see this show indoors in the drama studio of Buxton Community School, go along and see it, it is a joy.
Jayne Fanthorpe Walker
TINY! HOUSES IN TINY! WORLDS - Stone and Water
“I am a sea monster.” “Yes, you are a sea monster.”
Surreal conversations like this are commonplace at Tiny!’s children’s activities. The Stone and Water team has been running these free sessions for 16 years and they are as popular as ever with some 50 participants at this year’s event in the Pavilion Gardens’ playground area.
Artist, storyteller and educator, Gordon MacLellan (aka Creeping Toad) knows exactly how to engage very young children’s imaginations and has all the right materials - including card, felt tips, coloured pencils, glue, stapler and a big box of coloured scrap paper - to create a unique objet d’art, in my case a fully three-dimensional model of the bandstand in all its Fringe Sunday finery. Gordon tells me that others created assorted Minions, as in the animated film Despicable Me, Wallace & Gromit style evil penguins and more, often with accompanying habitats. He suggested there could even be a future make session inspired by the colourful train that rolled by when I was there, adding more fun to an already lively summer scene.
Fringe reviewers over the years have found the Tiny! make sessions hugely therapeutic, partly because of the mindful attention to detail needed to colour, draw and stick, but also because of the relaxed conversations that ensue with the team when under a tree with families all around and in the comfortable knowledge that it is not your child getting incredibly muddy down by the river…
Gordon confirms that the natural setting is conducive to building personal connections, in my case as a regular Fringe reviewer of this event, over years. So thanks for all the friendship Stone and Water and here’s to many more such events in the gardens.
Stephanie Billen
