appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

hooksArticlePageFloatingButtonConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

John Brennan

Every single night, books come to life through the imagination of the children reading them, whether they’re classic nursery rhymes, picture books or novels. But, for a season every year, Hong Kong’s youth also get a chance to see their favourite heroes and villains spring from the printed page and act out their adventures on stage.
Now taking place for the sixth consecutive year, KidsFest 2017 will be running at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts until February 12.
Among the shows lifted from much-loved literature are Stick Man, The Snail and the Whale, Shark in the Park, The First Hippo on the Moon, The Way Back Home, Why the Whales Came, Awful Egyptians (Horrible Histories), and The Best of Barmy Britain.
Two productions certain to grab the spotlight include Gruffalos, Ladybirds and other Beasts - which features best-selling author Julia Donaldson in the cast - and Romeo and Juliet Untold, which puts a few new twists into Shakespeare’s classic tale of star-crossed lovers.
Donaldson, whose numerous other world-famous works include Stick Man and The Snail and the Whale, sees the path from page to play as very much a two-way street. She believes shows such as hers help to foster an interest and love of literature and language in their young audiences.
“I think it is because books speak more to their imagination,” she explains. “There is nothing more enjoyable for a child than having their parents’ attention, sitting on their knees at bedtime, cuddling up in bed with a book, or hearing their parents put on the characters’ voices. You can’t get that from an app or computer game.”
And, she says, she’s always loved performing and found it an exhilarating experience.
“As a child, I wrote shows and choreographed ballets for myself and my sister Mary to perform to our family. My husband, Malcolm, and I busked around the world, and that journey would later lead me to a career of writing songs and performing on children's television programmes.”
Today, she finds “treading the boards” helps to recharge her batteries. “The books themselves, the invitations and the performances keep me young and keep me energetic. If I didn’t have those I’d probably be settling down into retirement, so I’m very grateful.”
And wherever she goes in the world, Donaldson says she never finds it that difficult to connect to her young audiences.
“I believe the reason that The Gruffalo is popular in so many countries is because it’s got a universal story. That’s the lovely thing about stories - an adult and child can always share a great story together, it doesn’t matter where you’re from or how old you are.”

Julia Donaldson autographs a book for a young fan.
 
In partnership with Stamford American International School, international theatre production company ABA Productions is presenting a total of 10 productions across the five weeks of KidsFest.
“KidsFest was launched in 2012 after the success of The Gruffalo and The Gruffalo's Child in the previous year,” explains Matthew Gregory, executive producer at ABA Productions. “It started out as a three-week festival, and over the years we have grown a loyal fan base across the family shows we've brought in.
“It is a wonderful platform for family interaction, and, at the same time KidsFest has become a key event on Hong Kong’s calendar of cultural events. It’s something that families can look forward to- a series of world-class productions.”
Both here, and internationally, Gregory’s company produces shows for all ages. And while he acknowledges that the process of staging a show for either grownups or children is basically the same, he says both the cast and production crew can’t help becoming even more engaged with their younger audiences.
“There are a lot of similarities when it comes to children's theatre and adult theatre. The main difference being, with children's theatre, they play off the children's imagination, and their familiarity with the stories, a lot. Hence the props, set and lighting need to play off each other to stimulate a child's creativity.”
Gregory adds that, while some upcoming shows are already sold out, tickets for others are still available and that anyone quoting “KF17" will save 10 per cent on the cost of their seats.
 


Chartered Global Management Accountants: Leading businesses forward

Global Business Challenge nurtures future business leaders with practical experiences

CGMA nurtures finance practitioners into versatile business professionals

Project Innovate enables future-ready learning at CDNIS

Education Post Archive

SCMP Education

Literary characters leap to life in KidsFest extravaganza

News

Education

KidsFest 2017 will be running at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts until February 12.


Literary characters leap to life in KidsFest extravaganza

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}KidsFest 2017 will be running at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts until February 12.

KidsFest 2017 will be running at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts until February 12.