The Very Hungry Caterpillar & Other Eric Carle Favourites
Media Invite
As a blogger, we are invited to many events but we do not always end up writing for all of them. Some require us to write a mandatory review, others offer us tickets just for a social media shout-out in Facebook or Instagram. There are also some who insist that we take the time to enjoy ourselves and not be obligated to share, write or photograph. This was one of those. I wrote because I felt it was worth the share.
We are big fans of the adorable Hungry Caterpillar! Ewan exclaimed, "Oh we are going to watch The Very Hungry Caterpillar? Yay! I have read the book five times you know?"
Oh no Ewan. You didn't read the book just five times. It was one of the first books I've read to you when you were a baby. I think I must have read it 50 times! We can now finally bring the book to live with this production.
We are big fans of the adorable Hungry Caterpillar! Ewan exclaimed, "Oh we are going to watch The Very Hungry Caterpillar? Yay! I have read the book five times you know?"
Oh no Ewan. You didn't read the book just five times. It was one of the first books I've read to you when you were a baby. I think I must have read it 50 times! We can now finally bring the book to live with this production.
This morning, we experienced the magical work of black light theatre. Act 3 International presents LITTLE CLOUD, THE MIXED UP CHAMELEON and THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR by Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia, Canada. A timeless production for all Eric Carle's fans!
It captivated not only the children but myself as a Mom too. I cannot help but wonder how the puppets glow in the dark, creating stunning visual effects while telling a story. The use of UV light [I assume it's UV lights in the play] was very clever and it made the stories on the stage pop. Trust me on this one. If it wasn't good, I wouldn't bother writing on the same day I watched it. Not to mention a thundery Saturday when I should be whiling my afternoon away with a cup of tea while the children napped.
Watch what I mean when I say the puppets glowed in the dark! These puppets are held by a black long rod, manoeuvred by human beings dressed in black in the background. So very smart.
Watch what I mean when I say the puppets glowed in the dark! These puppets are held by a black long rod, manoeuvred by human beings dressed in black in the background. So very smart.
Apparently, my son's favourite was THE MIXED UP CHAMELEON. As you can see, he thinks I'm a fly licking me like that! It is a story of a chameleon who changes colour every now and then, camouflaging into the world around him. It is bright and green when its belly is full, and grey and dull when it's cold and hungry. It sits around eating flies, like all other chameleons, and leads a generally unexciting life. One day, it stumbled upon a zoo! It is amazed by all those different animals it sees and want to be just like them. It looks around and sees a polar bear and wishes it was as big and white as that. Wohoo! Its wish comes true and he turned white! It sees a flamingo and wishes it was as beautiful as that. Bang! Its wish comes true and it grows wings and flamingo legs. By the time it wishes it was an elephant, he already had a tortoise shell on its back, a fox's bushy tail and a giraffe's long neck! Suddenly it sees a fly. Our chameleon friend is hungry but how can it possibly get at the fly in its current state? It wishes it was itself again. And bang! Its wish comes true. And it uses its super sticky tongue to eat the fly!
I took the chance to ask Ewan why he thought the chameleon was not happy with himself? The chameleon looks at what other animals have and wishes it was like them. Do you sometimes wish you had something other people have? Like what? At the end, the chameleon wishes it was itself again. What do you like about being yourself?
I took the chance to ask Ewan why he thought the chameleon was not happy with himself? The chameleon looks at what other animals have and wishes it was like them. Do you sometimes wish you had something other people have? Like what? At the end, the chameleon wishes it was itself again. What do you like about being yourself?
LITTLE CLOUD was my favourite and I kept going Awwww as little cloud moved along the story with beautiful transformations into a sheep and plane and shark! It is a charming little tale of how it decides to stray away from his fellow mates to go on an adventure that finds him morphing into various objects which was cleverly executed by the actors! He then joins the other clouds, and they turn into one big cloud and rain. Oh that rain. I cannot even describe to you how that rain was showcased. It was beautiful. All because every prop and puppet were glowing so captivatingly.
I asked the children, "Don't we sometimes look at the sky and realise how the clouds look like dinosaurs and rabbits?" Then they added, "Yes! And giraffes, cranes and pineapples!"
Faye loved how THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR turned into a beautiful butterfly. She was clapping and cheering throughout this 20 minutes storyline. As the story unfolded, we made bets about which fruit the caterpillar was going to have next! One Apple, Two Pears, Three Plums, Four Strawberries and Five Oranges! Nom nom nom nom nom!
This little hungry and greedy caterpillar had only one bite each into the fruits and desserts he ate before he tossed them aside with his tail. Daddy quickly took the opportunity to share about how food should not be wasted like that. Finish the apple whole and leave only the core because why? We should not let food go to waste like this greedy non-so-little caterpillar!
The actors shared that they have been playing this production for 17 years now and I have to say they do a very good job at it. It was so mesmerising to watch and the timing of this three-actor team were executed to perfection. Eric Carle is most famous for this book and every child in the audience started cheering and chattering in excitement with every food it ate!
This triple bill will enthral the young with its magical transformation of well-loved tales into a larger-than-life piece of theatre. It isn't your regular staged theatre show with actors singing to your favourite tunes but a beautifully set-up puppet show with classical music I adore. My only gripe is the noise made by crying and talkative kids in the theatre. It really got to me because well, I still very much prefer to watch my show without distractions.
One of their actors is injured and had to be wheeled on the chair for the show. As much as the lights should be totally out to portray the best black light experience, they couldn't due to safety reasons. So we could see the actors holding the puppets during the show [which was not meant to be]. It would have been more mesmerising if the theatre was blacked out with no light at all. Oh I want to watch it again!
So hey! Catch the show later this week, ending 15th October 17!
Hopefully the actor will be back on her feet by then and you will enjoy the full experience as it should be!
This is suitable for 3 to 6 year olds. It will be staged at Victoria Theatre from 6 to 15 October 2017. So hurry, book now and experience the glory of Eric Carle.
I asked the children, "Don't we sometimes look at the sky and realise how the clouds look like dinosaurs and rabbits?" Then they added, "Yes! And giraffes, cranes and pineapples!"
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| Source: Mermaid Theatre |
Faye loved how THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR turned into a beautiful butterfly. She was clapping and cheering throughout this 20 minutes storyline. As the story unfolded, we made bets about which fruit the caterpillar was going to have next! One Apple, Two Pears, Three Plums, Four Strawberries and Five Oranges! Nom nom nom nom nom!
This little hungry and greedy caterpillar had only one bite each into the fruits and desserts he ate before he tossed them aside with his tail. Daddy quickly took the opportunity to share about how food should not be wasted like that. Finish the apple whole and leave only the core because why? We should not let food go to waste like this greedy non-so-little caterpillar!
The actors shared that they have been playing this production for 17 years now and I have to say they do a very good job at it. It was so mesmerising to watch and the timing of this three-actor team were executed to perfection. Eric Carle is most famous for this book and every child in the audience started cheering and chattering in excitement with every food it ate!
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One of their actors is injured and had to be wheeled on the chair for the show. As much as the lights should be totally out to portray the best black light experience, they couldn't due to safety reasons. So we could see the actors holding the puppets during the show [which was not meant to be]. It would have been more mesmerising if the theatre was blacked out with no light at all. Oh I want to watch it again!
So hey! Catch the show later this week, ending 15th October 17!
Hopefully the actor will be back on her feet by then and you will enjoy the full experience as it should be!
This is suitable for 3 to 6 year olds. It will be staged at Victoria Theatre from 6 to 15 October 2017. So hurry, book now and experience the glory of Eric Carle.
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A stay at home mum, blogging to widen her social life.
We want to echo the sound of love through our lives to inspire other mothers alike.
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