A snowman melts, wasps chase a sandwich, a cow does a poop and Newby the sheepdog wins the trials.
The ever so talented Little Bulb, famed for their celebrated performance of Mountain Music when we first reopened our doors last October, returned this weekend to entertain an audience young and old with their telling of the Four Seasons.
Against a backdrop of Vivaldi’s iconic concerti and with enough props to fill a hardware store, Clare Beresford, Vic Llewellyn and Alex Scott took us through the cyclical changes of the seasons and with it the never ending cycle of life.
It was Vic’s first time appearing in this show, or so he told us at each performance, so he was anxious to get the help of the audience as he tentatively sowed a seed. Whether the seed was, as was suggested, a coconut, drinks bottle or hazelnut was of no matter for after a sprinkling of water and sunshine it successfully sprouted and, through the performance grew into a magnificent oak tree. From that moment on the creativity of Little Bulb shone as everyday items became the symbols of the seasons: lambs, April showers, boxing hares, bothersome wasps, beach holidays, rutting deer, snow and a hunting owl; we saw them all created from gloves, sieves, bits of pipe, a leaf blower and much interpretation.
This was a highly physical performance for the cast (slightly offset by the fact that we have no heating in the Hall) that delighted the children and engaged everyone with baaing, woofing and much laughter. Little Bulb bring delight, ingenuity and spectacle to the stage. We have now twice welcomed them to the Town Hall; may there be many more occasions to bring them here in the months and years to come.
If you missed Four Seasons but want to catch the performance, Little Bulb are touring it until late April visiting Reading, Cambridge, Canterbury, Battersea, Winchester, Yeovil and Brixham. Details at https://www.littlebulbtheatre.com/tourdates