Bernice Harrison found Annabelle's Star to be a delightful and intellectually driven piece for younger (but perhaps not the very young) theatregoers, while Mary Leland went along to Puss in Boots and thought it an absolute treat.
Annabelle's Star, The Ark, Temple Bar
Annabelle's Star, the Ark's Christmas offering for younger theatregoers is a beautifully produced, expertly performed and intellectually driven piece of work.
It's a one woman show with a silent Annabelle (Judith Ryan) complete with clown's red nose and spiky white hair learning to accept her parents' death.
Their two stars hover on stage for most of the time and they deliver a huge box filled with puppets and props that teach Annabelle all that she can strive for and achieve.
One of the final gifts is a series of boxes within boxes and as she opens each one, they appear to represent stages of life culminating with Annabelle finding her own star in the final box.
In the end she goes up a flight of steps, disappears and her star rises in the sky to join her parents. The special effects and props by Miriam Duffy, Sean Hillen and Kate Murphy were faultless and deftly executed by Louis Lovett. However, and it really is a big however, while this adult was thoroughly engaged and provoked by the piece my co critics, Kyle (nearly 6) and Harry (5) weren't entertained in any way. They loved the chance to chorus "look behind you" when a puppet or a star appeared behind Annabelle but otherwise the meaning and any story the writers Mary McNally and Raymond Keane might have been trying to tell went firmly over their heads.
It is billed as a show for 4-9 year olds and maybe children in the older age group had a clearer grasp of it. Their friend Mark (7) did seem to have a better time but his sister Rachel (5) was mostly scared by the darkness of the stage and the haunting music. Kyle and Harry couldn't understand why Annabelle didn't speak, why the stars kept coming and going and why there was only one person on stage.
The performance reminded me of those exquisitely produced and illustrated children's books that adults think children will like, because they themselves can see the beauty and the art in them - only to find that after the first reading the book is thrown aside for something more colourful, cheerful and downright simpler. - Bernice Harrison
Puss in Boots, Everyman Palace
Imgination and a firm grasp of what most fascinates and pleases young people lie behind the success of Puss in Boots at the Everyman Palace.
The detail of Catherine Mulvihill's otherwise simple sets extends the visual originality of much of the production, and the frequent appearances of the younger members of cast and chorus not only delight the audience - heartily engaged in the boy-band kind of music and singing on offer - but suggest lots of confident talent available to director Catherine Mahon-Buckley.
What is not available is efficiency in stage mechanisms - some of the scene changes halt and limp their way onto the stage, thus reducing any element of transformation - and consistency in amplification, set to screeching decibels despite the acoustic capacity of a relatively small theatre.
These failings, plus a struggling band unable to achieve an aural balance or even uniform rhythm or tuning (the audience solved these problems for it) might have detracted from the entertainment were it not for Dominic Moore's coherent script and the performances of Karen Cotter as Puss, Jessica O'Sullivan as Cordelia and the puppet Basher as the story-teller.
Lighting and costuming all keep to the recipe for gaiety and song-and-dance in plenty; technical difficulties notwithstanding, Puss in Boots is a treat. - Mary Leland
• Puss in Boots continues at the Everyman Palace until Sunday January 19th; booking: 021 4501673
