A magical hour by the professional team who created, “The Crooked Spire musical” (May 2022) for Chesterfield’s Pomegranate Theatre.
Mountains of the Moon won the best children’s show award and the best young actor award at Buxton Fringe Festival 2023.
This high-energy family theatre performance portrays a group of thirsty animals learning how to work together after their river dries up.
Rainforest noises fill the air as a small boy plays with his soft toys, the suggestion being that these are about to come to life in his imagination. Then the fun begins in earnest as the cast bounds on to the stage area and bursts into song. The stylised costumes take a little getting used to but it doesn’t take long to become acquainted with Monkey (Laura Mae Mellor), optimistic Gecko (12-year-old Eddie Waller putting in a particularly bright performance), Bat (Drew Sinclair), Camel (Simon Lewington) and Owl (Rachel Roberts), the actors’ facial expressions and skills in movement proving highly effective to differentiate each animal.
Mountains of the Moon is full of imaginative touches including shadow puppetry, a river of flowing cloth and inventive use of props; at one point a parrot is evoked simply through the flapping of a multi-coloured fan of feathers. A feast for the ears as well as the eyes, the show boasts cheery music and song – more than one of them could play an instrument – and lots of laughs too as the animals reveal their foibles and cook up ever more hare-brained schemes to bring back the rain.
Three beautiful fables are woven into the story and there are serious messages about putting aside petty rivalries in order to stand together to change things for the better. There are moving moments as the animals gather under the “magic moon”, wishing for a better future, but by the end of the show it is time to party again, the audience rising to its feet and dancing along with the tireless crew as tissue paper rain falls all around.
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