Lyngo's "Puss In Boots" Betrays It's Commedia dell'Arte Roots (And It's Awesome!) + A Chance To Get A Children's Ticket On Us!

This is the perfect context for the phrase "theater toys", because play is a large part of how Lyngo Theater tells their stories in their Children's Theater productions. In the currently running production Puss In Boots, The Master Cat is clearly a master of this medium. It's a wonderfully inventive, one-man show (with music and prop support) yet rooted strongly in traditional street theater and puppetry.

Take a look at the promo video below and you'll see what I mean:

Turns out, Lyngo IS related to the Commedia dell'Arte tradition! In fact, the whole company has strong Italian connections and manages to elevate Children's Theater without compromising on theatrical and storytelling quality.

If you've seen as much Children's Theater as I have, especially very young children's theater, you'll know it's quite a feat to manage this. So often Children's Theater has to manage on minimal budgets, unskilled volunteers and hand-me-down 'everythings', until what started out as an excellent idea tends to get watered down till it becomes the seriously poor cousin of 'real theater' and isn't given the respect it deserves for being many children's first introduction to live performing arts.
        
There has definitely been a change in this trend recently. I've seen some incredible productions begin to get attention here and there, especially if they're very innovative with their medium, and Lyngo is definitely part of this new generation of excellent theater you should take children to.

Here's a little bit about Lyngo, from their publicity page:

LYNGO is a UK based children’s theatre company with strong Italian connections. Our shows have delighted children and adults for over 10 years with their unique mix of fun and beautiful imagery, working magically together to reveal the vivid poetic realm that is at the heart of our work.Our trademark features are a singular visual flair, an inventive use of props -beautifully designed and hand-made ‘theatre toys’- and an interactive and genuine approach to play, no matter the age of our audience. Lyngo has currently on offer a repertoire of end-on shows for older children (3-10 years) and in-the-round interactive shows for a very young audience (1-5 years) “Lyngo knows the score when it comes to producing theatre for the very young. “ The Stage

And a little about Patrick Lynch, whom you see in the video above:

WRITER, ACTOR AND ARTISTIC DIRECTOR  Patrick Lynch has specialised in children’s theatre since 2003, after a wide-ranging career in theatre, television and film and academia. He studied psychology at Glasgow University and then dramatherapy and worked for many years with special-needs groups. He has worked extensively in Europe in theatre-forms like Commedia dell’Arte and clowning. In the UK he has acted and directed for companies like Oily Cart and been a workshop and project leader for many organisatons. Since 2006 he has been presenting television programmes for the BBC on their channel Cbeebies.

Lyngo theater is currently performing Puss In Boots around the UK and will be for the rest of the year, at least until December - aka panto season. (I dearly wish they were touring internationally!)
            

Check the Touring Schedule tab HERE for the specifics, and please let us know if you go! 

In fact...

- newsflash...newsflash... ANNOUNCEMENT!... newsflash... newsflash -
If you are in the UK and would like to go I will pay for one children's ticket in return for a short* review, that includes a one-line (or half-line!) quote from the child you take with you, on what they thought of the show. I'm offering one ticket only, so first come, first serve. Just email me at fairytalenews AT gmail DOT com with your name, the name and age of the child you are taking (to put the ticket in their name) and when and where you want to go. We'll set up a reserved ticket at the box office for you.

* 'short' means, literally, just a few lines, unless you feel like writing more (which we would also love), in which case I would just ask you keep it under 500 words. Ish.