Bear hugs galore
Cute koalas are rarely seen in Nottinghamshire — until now. The Peoples Theatre Company is bringing the show, Palace Theatre, Newark, to the Palace Theatre, Newark, on Sunday, November 14.
Written especially for parents to enjoy with their children, the show is a charming tale about the magic of family and the importance of a nice, warm hug.
It is based on a collection of short stories, How The Koala Learnt To Hug and Other Australian Fairytales.
It covers themes ranging from the belief that anything is possible to the importance of friendship.
With characters such as Natalie Wombat, Natascha the Witch, the Reggae Beavers and Karen the Koala, the performance is filled with all the wonders of the land Down Under.
It has been written by and will be performed by Steven Lee, who runs The People’s Theatre Company. He also wrote The Witch’s Bogey and Bink And The Hairy Fairy.
Steven, from Surrey, said: “The show was written especially for parents to watch and enjoy with their children. A lot of children’s shows are mainly aimed at children only and parents have to endure the experience. This time they can share the experience together and talk about the show afterwards.”
Although he started out as an actor, Steven describes himself as a playwright first and foremost.
After coming up with a storyline and some characters, it evolved into his book.
He met the associate director of Hull Truck, Nick Lang, who had also written some stories, and they swapped ideas.
Steven said: “Nick liked my story about the koala bear and thought there was some scope to turn it into a play. I adapted it and have been performing it since January.
“Although there is only me in the show, the stage is full of characters with lots of puppets so there is plenty to see throughout.”
Steven appeared in the West End production of Blitz as a child and was also a member of the National Youth Theatre.
He said: “I never really liked acting that much but preferred to create stories, especially for children.
“I decided to do the play myself because I can do accents, sing a bit, tell funny stories, play games, and operate puppets — and the children and their parents really seem to love the show.”
The final of this year’s Newark’s Got Talent takes place at the Palace on Sunday, at 7pm.
Organised by Martin Seymour of Newark Arts Forum, the artistes will compete to win £250 in front of a panel of judges.
The acts taking part are the band Tonberry and singers Natalie, Sharne, Julia, Al Cotton, Melissa, Shanay and Ant, dance trio Two Brunettes And A Blonde, the Jayne Ross School Of Dance, dance duo Mirror Image, dance trio Rascals, and rhythmic gymnastics Stardazzle and Kids And Co.
Dixieland will play a selection of traditional tunes and jazz standards on Sunday at 12.15pm in the Palace bar area.