Watching Tiddler

Remember I said that we did so many things last week? Well, I still have not finished writing about them all. So last Wednesday, we got to watch Tiddler and Other Terrific Tales by Scamp Theatre at the Singapore Repertory Theatre! I was delighted when I found out about the performance about a month before the shows started in Singapore. 

I would have wanted to get the $58 tickets because I knew the little girl would absolutely love it since Tiddler is one of her favourite books. We read it almost every day, sometimes 2-3 times a day. And the stories that were acted out - The Smartest Giant, A Squash and A Squeeze and Monkey Puzzle - are among her favourites too. Alas, tickets were on sale since January and most good seats for the $58 tickets had been snapped up so we settled for the next category.

The performance was totally more than I had expected. In fact, I didn't know what to expect. When we reached our seats, I saw a stage with some props like wooden ladders, wooden beams, wooden crates, rattan baskets and some pieces of cloth. I thought that was for the opening story and there would be other props but boy was I wrong. Everything they needed was already there on the stage, in baskets and crates, with ladders and beams that were repurposed for different scenes and simple items like pillows, bags and umbrellas used in absolutely creative ways.

And the three actors, with simple costume changes and clever use of voice with puppets and songs, coupled with some nifty dancing and coordination, really entertained us. They were superb! There were so many clever scenes that totally amused me, like the scene at the shop when George the Giant was shopping for some new clothes. Hubby said he liked their version of A Squash and A Squeeze the most. 

For me? My absolute favourite was for, what else, Tiddler! I was mersmerised when they acted out the part where Tiddler was thrown out of the fishing boat and it was lost in the sea where "strange lights glimmered". The strange lights were supposed to come from deep ocean fish like the angler fish. The lights were off for a while and with simple cardboard fish on sticks and flash lights, they did a magical scene. It totally inspired me to do the same at home for the little girl.

The actors

I wasn't supposed to take a picture, but I did. I couldn't resist! I had wanted so much to take pictures when they were performing Tiddler especially but a staff was looking out from behind for cameras. So when the show was about to end and they were taking their bows, I had to snap a picture. Leaving without taking a picture would have been unthinkable! Haha! I do hope they'll be back soon to do other stories by Julia Donaldson. I am in love with her stories.

 Reenacting Tiddler

This was something we had done in the past. Since the little girl loves Tiddler so much, I decided to reenact the story at her water table with a plastic boat, her marine Toob toys and a netted drawstring pouch to represent the fishing boat, fishing net and all the animals and the diver in the story. She enjoyed catching and releasing the animals from the net the most. I'm sure she will love it when I take her to the S.E.A. Aquarium!