We were lucky to get to go to this play to review it for Kiwi Families. The play was about a boy named Jake who moves to Magnolia Street, where he bumps into (literally) Beryl Booth, a lovely old lady in her eighties. Beryl helps Jake to know the history of the place and the magnolia trees.
I’m liking
The way the play talked about history was interesting and educational and helped Jake realise Beryl’s life wasn’t so different to his after all. I also liked the joke when Beryl Booth muddled the street name and before we knew it Genghis Khan appeared on stage! There were other good jokes throughout that kept us laughing.
A highlight was the way they used technology to make the backdrop come alive. There were clever special effects using simple but effective techniques.
Things that made me go hmmmm
The way Jake’s dad was displayed using a doll’s body was a bit weird. But it did help show that his Dad wasn’t a very good character, that his life was too busy to make time for his son.
The conclusion
Mum and I both really liked this play. It was emotional and quite thought-provoking in how we saw the characters come to understand one another despite their differences. Through telling lots of stories, the characters showed the importance of overcoming all sorts of prejudices. We would recommend it to older children and their parents together as an entertaining way to learn to understand other people.
Thanks to Kiwi Families and Capital E for the chance to see this awesome play!
