This delightful show of “physical theatre” celebrated the Olympics – in unlikely fashion. While national patience runs thin before London 2012 has really started, Rachael Savage and Vamos Theatre “bring a little bit of magic” back, yet no Olympic torch in sight.
It turns out that the modern Olympic games stem from the work of one Victorian Doctor Brookes, whose legacy makes his Shropshire hometown Much Wenlock famous but little feted – ’til now. And, while the hour-and-a-half-long entertainment culminated in the games, featuring a knitting race, we found there was more to Much Wenlock than its place on the Olympics map.
A succession of colourful scenes introduced us to a host of village characters: doctor, reverend, policeman, schoolteacher, barmaid, little ol’ lady, schoolgirl, mischievous lad and the Sankeys, mum and dad, their boy and two babies – all created by only three performers (Honor Hoskins, Tigger Blaize and Chris Gunter) using mime, puppetry and evocative masks by Russell Dean.
The set transformed from butcher’s to church to Olympic playground with the deft placement of sausages, church spire and bunting, and well-considered sound effects as well as musical accompaniment.
While there was a sniff of Punch and Judy about some elements such as the baby’s misadventure, this was an amusing and gentle romp which, parents might rest assured, relies on imagination to fill in the gaps.
The show’s target audience is unclear but no doubt Vamos will inspire some kids to return to the theatre, and possibly even as performers.
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