I love spending time with Little Man. In April he starts nursery and up until recently this has seemed quite far away. It dawned on me this week that it is actually a lot closer than I think, especially given there are only two weeks left of the school year. It makes me feel quite sad that we won't be spending every day together as we always have done. I am trying to make our time together count, well count more than it does as I am really going to miss my little sidekick when he starts nursery.
When an invite came to watch 'Twelve birds of Christmas' I jumped at the opportunity. Two years ago I took the girls to watch Twelve birds of Christmas but Little Man was too young to fully understand what was happening. I, on the other hand, can remember the performance and can remember how much fun it was. I could not wait.
This time the performance was at a new location. The Handmade theatre company have their very own studio based in Nottingham and it was here where we would watch the show. Little Man and I had fun spotting lorries and his highlight of the journey was when we stopped at a railway crossing. After 90 minutes we arrived at the studio.
We took our seats in our nest, just as we had done two years ago. Little Man began to take in his surroundings and listened to the music whilst we waited for the show to start.
The show was as I had remembered, interactive and very welcoming. Little Man surprised me at how involved he got as he does have a tendency to act shy in new situations. He said hello to the birds as they came around and even started dancing with the songs.
Little Man loved watching the different birds come and visit the nest.
He loved that he was free to move around the nest. He would sit with me under a blanket and then get up and dance. He moved around and walked and wasn't ever told to sit still, he loved that he could get involved.
Every time I watch the Twelve birds of Christmas it feels slightly different. Sure the basic story is the same but the atmosphere changes. The audience changes it. The space it is performed in changes it. The show evolves. Audiences react differently to different parts of the show and the interaction changes each time.
Whilst I may have seen the show before I would still go and see it again, because each audience changes the actual performance. The cast are simply fantastic and adapt to these changes professionally and integrate them into the show seamlessly.
The Christmas Turkey made an appearance and was rather excited about Christmas. Little Man loved him. Laughing and giggling when he saw him. He was given a carrot to feed the turkey but instead discovered the carrot fitted perfectly in a gap in the nest. Which just goes to show how the show can change quickly!
As always with Handmade theatre company there is plenty of singing and dancing. Plenty of audience participation but none of it is ever forced. It's a really relaxed and stress free show, which makes it perfect for young children.
I would love to take the girls to see the show again, as I would love to see how they interact with it now they are older. Little Man at two years old simply loved it, and whilst the picture may be a little blurry I think you can see how happy he is!
If you are able to travel to Nottingham I would highly recommend the Handmade theatre company an their productions, in two years they have never failed to entertain my children and always leave them with huge smiles! Check out their current productions here
Thank you to the handmade theatre company for inviting us, we had a fantastic time.
All words are my own and honest opinion.
