Theatre experience

This morning, Patrick and I brought our almost-5-year-old to a performance by a children theatre company. This was the first time PT and I were in Panggung Bandaraya since it was refurbished after "the" fire almost 10 years ago. I had only been to the Panggung once in 1991 to watch "Emily of Emerald Hill" and remember being enchanted with the theatre. I remember it as cosy and welcoming but do not remember in detail what it looked like. Patrick has performed in that theatre before and he is not impressed with the refurbishment. Millions was spent on refurbishing the theatre but it looked like most of the money went into ornate carvings and decoration instead of into the overall quality to enhance performances in the space. As with most things in Malaysia, what looks good in the outside may not be as good in the inside. More about Malaysia Boleh'ism in another post...

Anyway, we had a wonderful experience watching the Duffle Bag Theatre Co from Canada perform Beauty and the Beast. The show was interactive, so everyone in the audience were encouraged to cheer, jeer or clap in all the appropriate places. Members of the audience were invited to act along with the cast. Laura loved the show and was laughing out loud. We were ALL laughing out loud. A lady who sat behind me was laughing so much throughout the show, I was afraid she would burst her gut!

Such a simple idea. No frills set, quick costume changes, funny narration, audience participation... In fact, the whole set and prop can fit into a suitcase quite easily. Certainly the costume and props could have fitted into a duffle bag. Hence the name Duffle Bag Theatre, I guess.