THE THING THAT CHANGES
FROM THIS INTO THAT 2001
Myths and fairy tales from around the world inspired the Thing That Changes From This Into That. It is a Pandora’s box of magical visions and wondrous experiences that tease the imaginations of both children and the child within the adult.
The huge Wardrobe in Olga’s room is not what it seems. When she opens each door she discovers a topsy-turvy world of strange happenings and peculiar characters, each with its own story. Her curiosity leads her through a fast moving puzzle of nonsensical events, strung along with rhymes, riddles told by mischievous dancing characters.
“A tall tale several stories high. Magritte meets Narnia in my first exploration of creating dance theatre for young children. I had always been fascinated by the idea of the wardrobe that contains a world of fantasy and adventure. The back-to front-upside-down-wrong-way-around-too-big-too-small images in Magritte’s paintings also inspired me, and these two starting points got mixed together. The mundane objects and clothing inhabiting the wardrobe come to life as characters that lead a young girl into a Magritteian Narnia, or an Edward Lear wonderland.
The Thing that Changes From this Into that was co-commissioned by Brighton Festival, Gateway Theatre, The Hexagon, MacRoberts Arts Centre, the Place Theatre, Royal Festival Hall, and supported by The Arts Council Of England, East Sussex County Council and Family Assurance Friendly Society Limited.
PRESS:
“There’s a refreshing tendency to avoid the obvious and not play to the easy laughs …….an Alice-in-Wonderland-type exploration into the subconscious”
John Daniel, Theatre First.
“Rhymes and puns, references to Grimm tales and folk myths underpin moves that echo the linguistic antics in wittily nimble, athletic dance that boldly leaps into the surreal, or juggles looning around with midnight mystery. It’s essentially an unpatronising trampoline for children to bounce their own powers of imagination around on”
Mary Brennan, The Herald, Scotland