OUT THERE

OUT THERE

a new play for children by Danny Segeth

Chelmsford Theatre Workshop at the Old Court

07.06.2014

Alison Woollard was at the Old Court matinée ...

Danny Segeth has taken the world of the Mexican Day of Dead and imagined what might happen if the dead could come back and strike up friendships with the living. This might sound like a morbid theme for a children’s play but the idea is interpreted with such charm and humour that the theatre was soon full of laughter and the young members of the audience seemed at ease with the idea that a skeleton could make a good friend.

Many theatrical devices were used effectively to create the world of the living and of the dead. Puppet skeletons created an instant rapport while shadow puppets conjured up fantasy worlds in the imaginations of the audience. Adult actors, James Christie and Leanne Johnson, quickly persuaded us that they were children full of enthusiasm, while Sarah Chandler, Dave Hawkes and Fabienne Handley manipulated the puppets and other props with energy and skill, creating busy roads or quiet graveyards in seconds. The Spanish flavour of the story was conjured up by the beautiful guitar playing of Kate Hutchins.

There are three performances of Out There still to come: Friday 13 June at 7.45, and Saturday 14 June at 11.30 am and 3 pm.