Despite its small size, here in Northern Ireland we're very proud to boast a hugely vast and vibrant culture. In fact, perhaps one of the best things about living here in Belfast is its huge array of arts and cultural events that run all throughout the year. One such special and highly anticipated event is the Belfast Children's Festival, now in its 18th year. The festival, which is organised by Young at Art, a not-for-profit children's arts organisation based in the very heart of Belfast City, is each year host to dozens of arty events from puppet shows to baby raves (!!) aimed at children aged 0-14 and their accompanying adults.
Being a bit of a culture vulture (as well as a massive child at heart), this year I was very pleased to have been invited along with my little cousin, Aimee to attend one of Belfast Children's Festival's 2016 shows, Bambi, performed by a very talented ensemble cast of three from Swiss theatre company, Vorstadt at the Mac theatre in Belfast's bustling Cathedral Quarter.
When we arrived at the venue it was a buzz of excited energy as the young audience waited for the theatre doors to open and the show to begin, with Young at Art staff close at hand giving out balloons and keeping everyone entertained. When it time for the show to start, we all filed into the Mac's lovely and intimate theatre where the cast was already on stage and in character, animatedly adjusting costumes and props and readily interacting with the audience as everyone took their seats.
Truer to the original story than the version made famous by Disney, the play follows Bambi, a male deer as he finds his way through life in the woods, learning about its secrets as well as its hidden dangers, predominantly in the form of the menacing deer hunters that are said to lurk amongst the trees. Between them, the three cast members Vlad Chiriac, Gina Durler and Michael Schwager played a variety of colourful woodland creatures from the shrewd Mrs Magpie to two brutish playground bullies, much to the delight of the crowd who they had in fits of giggles from start to finish!
Despite the fact that the show was aimed at children around the age of 8, there was still plenty to be enjoyed by the older members of the audience. Aside from some fantastically engaging performances and some wonderfully creative staging, the show was full of brilliant wit and humour yet not devoid of a few very important lessons about friendship, love and loss.
At this moment it's still not too late to check out some of the remaining events at Belfast Children's Festival which is still running until Wednesday 9 March! Here's a little snippet of what's happening:
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