Our first time at the theatre
Here some of the WebPlay team describe their first visit to the Theatre
Bryony
My first visit to the theatre was as a 6-year-old child on
a school trip. It was to see 'The Gingerbread Man' at the Nuffield Theatre in
Southampton. I remember being really excited when we arrived - the
theatre seemed HUGE (looking back now it was quite small, but then so was
I, so it seemed really big!) I was fascinated by the set, which looked like
it was made out of biscuits and was glistening with sugar. I was a bit frightened
of the gingerbread man, as he was a giant puppet that took up most of the
stage, but I loved the show and there was a happy ending! My Mum made sure
we went to the theatre at least once a year after that and when I was 10
I joined a local acting class so that I could be part of the action.
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Jon
My first visit to the theatre was to watch Moby Dick at the
Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester. It was so exciting.
The Royal Exchange is a theatre in the round, which means
that the stage has seats all around it so wherever you're
sitting; you're right on top of the action. You may or may
not know that Moby Dick is the story of a huge whale that
is chased by a crew of fishermen on a huge sailing ship.
We never got to see the whale but the actors and director
were really clever in making you imagine that the whale was
there in the theatre with you. The most amazing bit of the
whole play was when the stage appeared to turn into the raging
sea. That was a special effect; look out for some special
effects in My Uncle Arly.
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Sydney
When I was six, I was taken with my
class to see a performance of Balinese Shadow Puppets. It was the most amazingly
beautiful thing I'd ever seen and I was completely transfixed. It
was the first time that I experienced how powerful the theatre
is and how magical the relationship between performer and audience
can be.