The book, Handa’s Surprise by Eileen Browne is nearly 30-years-old, first published in 1995. It is a firm favourite amongst many children and its heart-warming story of adventure and whimsy. My two- year-old thoroughly enjoys the book and so to have Little Angel theatre bring it to stage once more was an absolute delight.
For those unfamiliar with the story we take a trip to Kenya and follow in Handa’s footsteps as she journeys to see her best friend Akeyo, in the next village. Handa is taking seven delicious fruits as a surprise – but seven different animals have seven very different ideas…
The production is a colourful and vibrant blend of physical performance, puppetry, live music and song combined to create an intimate, magical experience with audience participation with an endearing surprise at the end.
The puppetry was so cute we loved the giraffe and monkey in particular. Handa’s Surprise is aimed at ages 2 – 5 which is perfect as the older kids did spoil the surprise a bit with their vocal participation (LOL). Cast illness the day meant that there were limitations to the way the story was told which although didn’t necessarily ruin the production, it was still very well performed by Rujenne Green but it did mean that at times it felt like Rujenne who did a phenomenal job was perhaps stretched.
The intimacy of the production combined with the vibrant design of the stage really made us feel like we had indeed travelled to another land. The audience response really highlighted how utterly charming this story was; as my daughter giggled and chuckled I couldn’t help but cherish that moment of joy. And this is what theatre from such a young age does, it brings joy to life.
Go and see this charming production. For once you won’t need a passport to visit an African country.
Need to know: Handa’s Surprise runs at the Polka Theatre until 23 June 2024.
