Gorilla live! & London International Animation Festival

 

Recently it was half term at E's nursery and as a treat we went to the Polka Theatre to see a theatre adaptation of Anthony Browne's book Gorilla. Regular readers of the blog will know that I'm a huge fan of Anthony Browne. It was actually his endorsement of this particular production that prompted me to book tickets, and I think at the outset I was more excited than E. Not for long though as he quickly rallied and sat still and quiet for a full 45 minutes to experience the magic of Gorilla live!

This is a clever and quietly beautiful production that makes the most of its set design and carefully chosen props, music and puppets to bring Browne's book to life.  Gorilla is the story of a little girl named Hannah who absolutely loves Gorillas.  Hannah spends most of her time drawing, reading and thinking about gorillas.  The remainder of her time is spent trying to get her busy father's attention.  The night before her birthday she has a magical adventure (dream or not, you decide) with a gorilla who takes her to the zoo, the cinema and a cafe where she feasts on a bountiful collection of sweet treats. When Hannah awakes it's her birthday and she's over the moon to discover that she has another magical day in store... only this time it's with her Dad. 

The Choir Tour

Our second half term outing was to the London International Animation Festival. I don't know a great deal about animation, nor do I often seek it out, but everyone in my household thoroughly enjoyed the screening we went to.  So much so that E is borderline 'bereft' that he can only watch a very brief clip of his favorite short from the day, The Choir Tour (Edmunds Jansons).

The Mole at Sea

The kids' screening session was incredibly well programmed and other favorites of ours included The Mole at the Sea (Anna Kadykova) and Rising Hope (Milen Vitanov). And for UK readers it's not too late to catch these animation shorts. Check this listing for screening schedules at local cinemas. 

And if you're local to London then you may wish to check out the next threatre production in our cultural itinerary: White at London's Southbank.

White