Craigmonie Centre, Drumnadrochit, 21 May 2012, and touring

CARTOON Theatre’s latest production brings the company’s trademark blend of live performance and animation together in tribute to this year’s big event: the Olympics.

STARRING Artair Donald, along with a host of colourful projections, the audience is taken on an adventure through a young man’s exhilarating journey to the Games. Geared towards the 5-10 age group, A Sporting Chance creates a fantastic show for children by keeping them continually captivated. On his way to the games, our hero completes every activity possible, including racing, cycling, parachuting and swimming.

Artair Donald in Cartoon Theatre's A Sporting Chance

Those who have seen Dave Smith’s previous work with John Mcgeogh for Clown Jewels will be familiar with their zany and inspired artwork. Aside from creating a background for the cartoon projections, the stage multitasks in innovative ways; sections of the screen unzip so that the character can become part of his surroundings, allowing him to ride a school bus, and swim effortlessly through an ocean scene.

The animated backdrop also lets him enter all kinds of fantastic situations, from an underwater fencing match with a dancing skeleton, to a commercial plane flight piloted by sheep. When he stumbles on a school sports day, the egg and spoon race consists of real eggs and spoons, Alice in Wonderland style. Best of all, the marathon scene includes drawings from a local primary school workshop, making for a surreal race with cat and monster headed participants.

Unfortunately, the Craigmonie centre performance was vastly under-attended, with only a meagre handful of children and parents dotted through the stalls. But what the audience lacked in numbers, they made up for in enthusiasm. The show is so interactive that any children, no matter how few, can’t fail to be spellbound.

However, it’s early days for A Sporting Chance, and Cartoon Theatre plan on running the production from the Olympics, all the way through to the Glasgow Commonwealth Games in 2014. In this time, the show will doubtless develop in all kinds of different directions, with more audience participation and workshops along the way. Also, thanks to the bilingual Donald, the Gaelic version has also been well-received throughout the Western Isles. Let’s just hope that word spreads about this very worthwhile production.

© Rowan Macfie, 2012

Links

• Cartoon Theatre