A Small Mind At The Theatre

So the Flash Festival had begun for 2015 and this year there were to be sixteen shows across the six days and I was to see them all (and *gulp* try to review them all). My first one of the week was The Little Prince by (Jenny) Styles Theatre Company. This was a show I had had a little preview of earlier in the year as a work in progress at a R&D Open Mic Night ( here ). It tells the tale of a little Prince (you don't say) and his adventures across a collection of random planets. Based on the book by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Jenny translated the tale into a storytelling style. This is quite a departure from any Flash I have seen previously, but after the general trauma of many subjects in 2014, a blessed relief for the lighthearted nature of it. Having seen a few storytellers this year, I have to say that Jenny presents one of the most acted ones I have seen. The tale is full of dynamic movement, and gesturing of hands and a box of many talents to vividly transport us acros...

CRICK! CRACK! CRICK! CRACK! However enough about my back problems. If you are sitting comfortably (well one of us needs to be), then I shall begin. On a fair and splendid evening in the month of Februarius, the hero of our story took a trip to the theatre in a beautiful pea green coat. His destination did hold many tales so bold, from storytellers both young and old. Beneath the Derngate there lays a space they call the underground. This is no Piccalilli or Paddington silly, there are no trains here to behold. On this day the space was filled with tables and chairs that lay quite scattered around. Little tea lights glittered upon each table while a waitress wandered around. The Open Mic Story Night was an opportunity for keen individuals to get up in front of the mic (there was no mic!) and have a go at storytelling. My first experience of storytelling as an art form had come just a month earlier with Fairytales For Grown Ups  and it has been a fascinating ex...