By Sophie
Link: https://gsauk.org/events/babe-the-sheep-pig
Available until: Second livestream 26th March at 6pm
There aren’t many children’s books about sheep. Lots about dogs, cats and horses, but sheep seem to appeal to few children in the way they have always appealed to me.
Of course, the star of this book is Babe the pig, but sheep still play an important role and through the book, the reader comes to understand that sheep aren’t stupid. They understand the instructions perfectly, but if they’re conveyed in a rude manner, they choose not to comply. These sheep are, of course, fictional, but research into the intelligence of sheep has concluded that they’re actually very bright animals. They also have the ability to recognise others so if a farmer kicks them or a dog bites, them, the chances are they won’t have forgotten it all by next week.
The story focuses on the lovely, cuddly sheep, but much of what happens in Dick King-Smith’s novel The Sheep-Pig and in this play, which was adapted by David Wood and Dick King-Smith, could also be applied to humans. It seems worryingly common for people to assume that people who fall into certain categories are stupid. I have a disability so therefore I’m stupid. I have mental health problems so therefore I’m stupid. I have trouble holding a spoken conversation without panicking so therefore I’m stupid. I’m psychologically and physically incapable of working at present so therefore I’m stupid. The fact I have numerous qualifications in more subjects that anyone else I’ve known is of no consequence, if it is even believed. For many people (mainly those who work in mental health and really should know better), I fall into the ‘stupid’ category and few people are sufficiently interested to look any further into the matter. They judge me based on my labels and that is the end of the matter. If I were the only person who was treated in this way, perhaps it would indicate that there is some severe and untreatable deficiency in me, but it is not just me. It happens to many people. A large number of them believe they really are inferior to the rest of the world; that the way they’re treated is fair.
The same has been happening for the sheep. The farmer shouts at them. Sheepdog Fly, despite her kindness towards the young piglet Babe, is incredibly rude to the sheep. The sheep feel they are worth more than this (good for them) and become resistant to their demands. It is not until Babe comes along, takes an interest in them individually and speaks to them politely, as though they are worth something, that the sheep start to show an interest in doing as they’re asked.
Babe, The Sheep-Pig is a very entertaining story (and it’s a great shame the first of the two performances is in the afternoon, as then one of the children could have reviewed it and you wouldn’t have to put up with me – I’m sure they’ll watch tomorrow’s performance, but the whole point of our reviews is to raise awareness of online theatre with a view to encouraging people to watch it so we wouldn’t review the final show), but it also teaches so much about judging others and treating them as inferiors based on their appearance or their labels. It shows what can be achieved if somebody believes in you enough to give you an opportunity. An opportunity that suits Babe as an individual. Not an opportunity based on the fact he happens to be a pig.
Chloe France has directed this beautifully. The actors are given movement characteristics to help them to appear like the animal they’re playing (the sheep do some wonderful skipping), but the main focus seems to be on showing personality through movement and this works really well. The production is a collaboration between the Acting and Musical Theatre students and although I would not describe the piece as a musical, music and dance are an important part of the piece. The dancing is beautiful to watch (student Kaela O’Connor is the movement captain) and the keyboard-playing of musical director and composer Ed Zanders is beautiful and very sensitive. A really lovely addition to the story. The music suits the play perfectly and I loved the musical quote I noticed. Perhaps there are also some I missed.
Their costumes (designed by Jason Denvir and associate Leah Sams) consist of a hairstyle to represent the animals’ ears and a kind of shawl over the shoulders to indicate what kind of animal they are. Fly the sheepdog also has a lovely long tail. It’s visually affective, but it never gets in the way of the animals movements. Jason and Sam also designed the set, which is on two levels and sometimes includes enclosures for the animals. It all helps to create the illusion of a farm without actually having muck everywhere.
Kendra Goehring is a very sweet and sincere Babe, always positive and polite without being annoying. Olivia Jay Braza is really lovely as the initially-abrasive ewe Ma, who becomes kind and gentle in response to Babe’s kindness. It was good to see Alice Gold as a very capable female farmer Hogget, with Christian Hodge in the role of ‘Farmer Hogget’s Partner’, both lovely humans who, along with the animals, learn a lot from Babe. Kaela O’Connor is a warm, motherly Fly. The rest of the large cast do well as the assorted animals, moving wonderfully and also providing convincing animals noises. Malal Bellal’s Cockerel is particularly impressive.
Babe, The Sheep Pig is brilliantly-acted and it has sheep in it so it’s got everything really.
No comments:
Post a Comment