THROUGHOUT the Covid-19 crisis, theatre-makers have been asking themselves: “how can we make online theatre that really connects with audiences?” However, as writer, musician and performer Will Pickvance has discovered, there is another, even trickier question that the public health emergency has posed for theatre artists: “how can we make online theatre that really connects with children?”
Children’s theatre, even more than plays for adults, requires a vibrant connection between performer and audience member. With the playhouses closed, it takes a special kind of bravery to try to create a live, online theatre piece for children that draws upon the specific possibilities of the internet.
Thankfully, in making this online version of the celebrated children’s stage show First Piano On The Moon, Pickvance and director Lu Kemp (artistic director of Perth Theatre) have that special bravery. The original stage version of the show, which was directed by Magda Dragan, premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2019, to great audience and critical acclaim.
Perth Theatre presented the piece online in two live performances yesterday. The show tells the story of Will, a young boy, not unlike Mr Pickvance in his youth, who is particularly good at two things, playing piano and daydreaming.
Due to the latter, young Will is nervous when his parents receive a very official-looking letter from his school. He’s worried that the missive will be asking his parents to come into school to discuss the problem of his endless fantasising.
Much to his relief, however, the note is much more benign. In fact, it’s an invitation to him, as the best pianist in the school, to go to Salzburg to play in a children’s concert in celebration of Mozart’s birthday.
What follows is a lovely, captivating and humorous tale of Will’s trip to Salzburg. From the Mozarts Geburtshaus (Mozart’s birthplace) to the sights and sounds of the city, to the precocious child musicians who are much better prepared for the concert than Will, all is told by way of wonderfully vivid language and delightfully engaging storytelling.
As Pickvance unfolds the excellent tale, he also plays music, from Mozart and Beethoven to The Doors, that illustrates the story beautifully. Later in the tale, when Will has a very special, very imaginative, late night encounter with the great Wolfgang himself, the boy brings the genius up to speed on New Orleans blues and the works of Little Richard.
HOWEVER, there is more to this digital production than just fabulous musical storytelling. The beauty of the show is that Pickvance and Kemp have realised that online drama has to do a lot more than simply plonk cameras in front of a stage production.
This digital version of the show innovates cleverly on the theatre piece.
There are cameras showing Pickvance’s fingers on the keyboard and, even, the interior of the piano, where we see the hammers hitting the strings in real time. There are also smart visual effects, such as Tim Reid’s charming animations, including one of Mozart playing the piano. Other digital effects take us into space, where, thanks to Nasa, music from Mozart’s The Magic Flute is in orbit.
Other visual elements (ranging from a proscriptive sign to a birthday cake) are decidedly analogue. However, translated to this new version of the show, they work very well on screen.
All of these elements are combined seamlessly into a captivating, original and funny work of digital drama for everyone aged seven and over. Let’s hope we see Mr Pickvance’s marvellous show on screen or, even better, on stage again very soon.
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