Creators: Tom Saunders and Luke Pearson
Director: Tom Saunders
Hull Truck’s much loved retelling of the classic fable is back to delight young audiences at the theatre and in community venues over half term.
Tom Saunders’ and Luke Pearson’s take on the classic adventure between the speedy hare and the steady tortoise takes a twist on the short story to include themes of self-care, friendship and healthy eating.
We meet school friends Tortoise and Hare who play games after school every day. One day they decide they will race each other and begin training.
Tortoise, played by Hull actor Josie Morley, follows the advice and trains steadily, eats a healthy diet and sleeps well between sessions. But the foolhardy hare, played by Levi Payne, runs at full speed all day, eats terrible food and skips sleep, ending up with a injured leg and poorly tummy. Then, of course, he needs to take a nap halfway through the race, leaving Tortoise to triumph.
Before the performance the young audience is treated to craft activities. Instructions and crafts supplies are placed on tables, but they are a little hard to follow and with no workshop leader in charge, parents and carers are left with a bit of guesswork. It also would be nice if the activities linked more to the performance, perhaps introducing the young audience to the storyline, characters and themes.
After 40 minutes and activities the performance takes place in the studio. The audience is able to meet and interact with the characters of the story on the way in, which is great for familiarisation. Then, after the audience is seated, a game is led which allows us to relax and understand that the formal rules of theatre, which can be inaccessible for young audiences, do not apply here.
Payne’s performance as the energetic Tortoise is relentlessly dynamic and lively, causing fits of laughter in the audience. The energy of Morley’s Tortoise could do with being much less so, in order to create the opposition in characters. This slight adaption would make the narrative much clearer, as the similarity in the performances was a little confusing.
The repetition of movements in the piece is brilliant, and the audience soon cottons on and gleefully joins in without needing to be asked. Both performers respond beautifully and with skill to the audience, allowing them to interact in their own ways.
The piece feels a little like a festival performance, with little thought given to technical aspects. The costumes are basic and could be more effective, with the Hare in a tracksuit with big ears and the Tortoise using a rucksack as a shell (which confusingly, is then used as a rucksack part way through the performance).
The whole show could be lifted with even a simple lighting design, and with no set it would help audiences to understand the changes of space and place if the lighting gave more support.
Following the performance there is another game, which, while great fun, is unneeded and the audience is well ready to stretch their legs and refill their tummies.
Having said all this, it is wonderful to see a theatre thinking about giving a full experience to young audiences, particularly when parents and carers are in need of affordable entertainment in the school breaks.
With crafts, laughs, games, songs and plenty of audience participation, this is a mini treat for young audiences. If you are local to Hull Truck Theatre do keep your eyes open for more to come at Easter.
Runs until 18th February 2023.
