Following a mother and baby bird through the early stages of parenthood, Take Flight by local theatre company Rebel Sparks came to Lakeside Arts this weekend, uplifting early years theatre to new heights. Izzy and Bobby Bradley went down to check it out...
After seeing that Nottingham-based theatre company Rebel Sparks were bringing their new, original early years aerial theatre show to Lakeside Arts I knew this was something I was keen to experience with my little one; a theatre show for 0-2s fusing aerial and circus with a stay-and-play?! Yes please!
Being welcomed into a calming space with the beautiful singing voice of ‘Mummy Bird’ setting the gentle pace, tone and mood, whilst admiring a vibrant playful pastel-neon set of sensory shapes and an aerial rig with silks - I knew we were in for something good. I soon realised that our floor-based welcome package was a little nest of our own for our babies, with playful surprises as an invitation to play, and I was immediately immersed in the show; we were all Mummy & Baby Birds.
With this aerial show for babies being the first of its kind, I felt like I’d witnessed a new exemplar in Britain’s growing early years theatre
The gentle storytelling follows a mother and baby bird as the baby grows and explores, overcoming challenges and eventually supporting them to leave the nest and take flight. The show felt like the warm embrace of a cocoon (or should I say nest) and was abundant with silly sounds, engaging expressions, exuberant costume, flowing physical movement, soft live music, audience interaction and an impressive array of aerial skills completely relevant to the narrative. It was a real treat for the senses and accompanied by gorgeous original music and warm soft colourful lighting which combined had a sense of an offering of spring time. In a room full of babies and toddlers all were engaged throughout either watching, playing with their props or participating with the joyful sounds.
I’m sure any parent (particularly other ‘Mummy Birds’ in the audience) would join me in relating to this very sweet and poignant representation of the trials and tribulations of parenthood; seeing the the absurdity and beauty of it all in front of you in a vibrant theatrical package left me with a sense of motivation as we muddle through and prepare our own babies for the world.
It felt really special to watch the premier of this Nottingham-based theatre company’s show here in our home town, directed by Rebel Sparks' Ria Ashcroft of Sneinton Market's Circus Hub. (To hear more from Ria about developing the show, read our recent interview.) With this aerial show for babies being the first of its kind, I felt like I’d witnessed a new exemplar in Britain’s growing early years theatre. To allow the performers LJ Willow (Mummy Bird) and Rika Fujimoto (Baby Bird) to shine, it is clear there was a fantastic creative and research team behind this show fusing together to create something really unique and perfectly suited for early years.
The real critic here though was my seven-month old son who, for his first ever theatre show, was sat mesmerised for the whole duration (thirty minutes) in awe. Suitable for parents (particularly creatively-inclined) who are looking for something ‘a little more’ than your normal baby groups and for someone like myself who is often wondering how to not forget yourself in parenthood and blend your artistic interests with your very young children - go to see shows like this. You will both be uplifted.
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