☆ outing (1st) to the theatre… with a toddler! ☆

My Mommy heart is happy.

My Mommy heart is still smiling!

This past weekend, the National Arts Festival treated Adam and I to a delightful LIVE theatre piece –The Gruffalo.

Ella & Aidan also joined us on this adventure.

The South African version of Tall Stories’ UK West End hit, The Gruffalo, opened on Sunday 15.01.2017 at The Savoy Theatre in The Bay.

Did Adam enjoy the performance? Utterly!

Did he behave? He most certainly did!

Was he actively involved in the audience participation bits? Absolutely!

As mommy and artistic practitioner, this makes me proud.

Yeah, cliché I know…his mom loves theatre arts and his dad loves sport, so we are both waiting to see which direction he heads towards. (insert LOL here… looks like I am winning!)

The excitement of each and every kid is so contagious, as we make our way to our seats.

This took me back into time.

Back when I was on the flip side behind the curtain getting ready to perform to kids and

Adam loved the performance. He really loved the characters and this was a stunning piece of work to have him experience his first visit to a theatre.

He joined in the fun because Director Tara Notcutt made sure the kids and parents could stay involved through some fine audience participation.

A quick-witted mouse as he encounters a host of predators who seem to think he might make a tasty treat. As he ventures deeper into the deep dark wood, stumbling across a hungry fox, a not-so-wise owl, and a slimy snake, spinning ever-extraordinary yarns about the scary, scaly gruffalo, he quickly realises that the hungry beast he has been talking of isn’t imaginary after all.

This story book comes alive with sassy and cheeky little characters to entertain your little one.

Ayanda Nondlwana plays oh so fluffy Gruffalo and Nombasa Nqoqo portrays a loveable Mouse. My absolute favourite was the Salsa Snake played by Sisonke Yafele.

I quite enjoyed how these bold characters are uniquely styled with some real South African flavour!

So I thought I’d put together a short list of things to consider:

• Choose something the little one will enjoy!

• If you are worried your child will need the toilet mid-way through, then book or choose an aisle seat to make things easier for you all.

• Be prepared to leave if necessary, you never know with a toddler.

• Encourage a nap before the show, to you don’t have to deal with a crabby patty while sitting in the theatre.

• Take a snack along (just in case)…

• The merchandise stands can be a horrendous, so maybe it’s wise to decide beforehand about whether you are happy to buy something and take some cash along.

• Be nice, its children, they still need to learn. A Dad in front of us was real nice, he actually apologised beforehand that his daughter might stand up on the chair if she gets excited. I really appreciated the gesture because he was considered, but I really wanted to “high five” him because he knows his kid so well.

• Treat it like an adventure, it’s a new experience you little lady or lad might love or might now love, so don’t fret if they’re not into it. Again, you never know with a toddler…

• Encourage your child to play the role of “grown-up theatre-goer”. As a theatre performer, etiquette is so important to me, so I plan to teach Adam yeah I know he is young but it’s never too early to learn good manners! Right?!

• Use the performance as launch pad to enhance simple daily lessons.

This classic picture book The Gruffalo, by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler LIVE on stage is a must see for your little ones.

Thank you NAF for this memorable afternoon.

Be sure to follow The Gruffalo online for tour updates!

Until next time…

Love & Laughter