3 facts you may not know about The Magic Paintbrush

1. It was based and inspired by a popular Chinese folk tale
2. It was first staged in 2000 at the old Drama Centre and now back at  the Drama Centre at the National Library
3. It was one of the first musical incorporating puppets back then

I purchased the book at the door and had a quick read through with my kids covering the gist of the books as the book is too wordy for my 3 and 5 year old. This beautifully illustrated story book is also a colouring book where kids can add their own colour using paintbrush if they like or just colour pencils or crayons.

The only deviation from the book was the main character was a boy called Tony Lee, and in the production, they decided to cast it as a girl named Toni Lee. It was set in modern Singapore whereby the expectations of the parents were high where success if measured not by talent but sheer hardwork. As Toni was mugging for her exams, her mind wandered after reading the story “The Magic Paintbrush”. A Magic Paintbrush came alive and granted Toni a wish and transported her to the southern province in Ancient China. She became Ma Liang, the character in the story. When she was gifted a Magic Paintbrush by an Old Man, she could paint anything and it will come to life. So she went and painted for food and items needed by the poor farmers and become the hero of the village. The greedy Emperor heard of Ma Liang and her Magic Paintbrush and ordered the palace guards , Sotong and Shrimp (who provided most of the slapstick comedy through this production) to capture Ma Liang so that she c0uld paint him all the gold and riches of the world. I shall not delved on further on how it ended but at the end, there is a strong moral message of the danger of abusing power and the value of creativity and of friendship.

and 5 reasons you should not miss this wonderful production.

1. One of the strongest cast in a I Theatre production

If you have been watching children’s productions for years like yours truly, you would be familiar with Dwayne Tan and Tan Shou Chen. I first saw Dwayne Tan 5 years ago in SRT’s Jack and the Beanstalks, (my first ever children theatre) . An ex Singapore idol alumnus, there is no denying his singing powess and his acting skills. In fact, back in the 2000, he was casted as Toni/Ma Liang. For this year’s production he plays the Magic Paintbrush and the Old Man.

And Tan Shou Chen who was last seen at SRT’s Treasure Island and he totally nailed the character of the very demanding father to Toni Lee and the very greedy and evil Emperor of China. In most production, the evil and the bad characters are the most memorable, which is clearly the case as well.

2. The most beautiful set of props and costumes

I shall let the photos do the talking.

3. Mixed of puppetry and luminous props

They have also incorporate luminous props  as part of the musical, a reminiscence of their prior production, Little Star which has captivated the younger audiences.

There were also 3 main puppets used throughout the productions, The Magic Paintbrush,  Madam Hoang, the phoenix and the Chicken which blend in seamlessly with the cast. Some of the cast played both the actor and also the puppeteer, truly versatile.

4. Beautiful written musical scores and catchy tunes

Reaching for a shining star
Working for a world so far
Looking for a place to call
My home at last.

Striving for a heart that’s true
Searching for the peace you knew
Hoping for a future better than your past

sung by the main character, Ma Liang, so heartfelt and bring up the emotions

And there was even a comical song about “taxes” by Sotong and Shrimp, I am sure my kids don’t have an inkling about taxes but the adult audience do very well. I really hope that I Theatre will complied the songs from this production into a CD so that theatre goers can bring back the songs after watching.

5. Truly something for the young (as young as 3) to old

There is slapstick comedy for the very young who will be wildly entertained by the antics of Sotong and Shrimp , the palace guards.  And for the older crowd like me or even grandparents , the cast has incorporated Cantonese in some of the dialogues much to my amusement.

And this is the bonus reason why we should bring kids to the theatre not just The Magic Paintbrush but children’s theatre in general – shared by Little Day Out with I Theatre. http://www.littledayout.com/2015/03/12/10-reasons-why-you-should-head-to-the-theatre-for-your-next-little-day-out/

As it is a 1 and a half hour production with a 15 minute interval, do ensure you bring some snacks during the interval as it is a tad longer than the usual productions that we had watched. The queue at the cafe was quite long during the interval so it is best you pack some snacks for the younger kids and some hot drinks at it is pretty chilly in the big theatre.

Do not miss this very special final production for 2016 for I Theatre as they commemorate their 15th year anniversary. Thank you for enriching the children in Singapore for the past 15 years and for my family, some of the most memorable productions we had attended to date – The Ant and the Grasshopper (2014, and it is back as the first production for 2017, yay! ) and Jewel in the Tale (2015) and of course we have added The Magic Paintbrush to the list as well.

The Magic Paintbrush
Presented by I Theatre
Dates:

Thu, 27 Oct – Sat, 12 Nov 2016
27 0ct 2016 till 30 Oct 2016
Thu – Fri: 10.30am & 2.30pm
Sat & Sun: 11am & 2.30pm

1 Nov 2016 till 12 Nov 2016
Tue & Thu: 10.30am & 2.30pm
Wed & Fri: 10.30am
Sat: 11am, 2.30pm & 7.30pm
Sun: 11am & 5pm

Venue: Drama Centre Theatre, Drama Centre Theatre, Level 3 National Library Building, 100 Victoria Street, Singapore 188064

Recommended for three year olds and above
Ticket prices: $32 (excluding booking fee)

Tickets available from SISTIC.

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post. All photos except the photo of my kids and the story book are credited to I Theatre. 

After the very busy August month where all children’s productions were all lined one after another for the lucky kids in Singapore, November is another “busy” month for the kids in Singapore.  I was confused initially when I saw the title of the production, Aesop’s Fables: The Town Mouse & The Country Mouse. There was a similar titled production in August but that is by a local cast.

Aesop’s Fables: The Town Mouse & The Country Mouse happening on the first weekend of November is coming direct from UK by the Pied Piper Theatre, their first time in Asia!

Aesop’s Fables: The Town Mouse & The Country Mouse 

Venue: SOTA Drama Theatre
Ticket Pricing (Excludes Booking Fee)
Standard: S$58, S$48, S$38.
Get your tickets via Sistic today.

August is definitely a good month for the kids as there are not 1 or 2 but 3 children productions by different local theatre companies to the lucky kids in Singapore. Yes ,all truly local productions with local cast! This time, I will be reviewing the latest production from ITheatre, Little Star.

The play was based on the concept of star and the very famous song “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”. From the onset, all the puppeteers came on stage to introduce the puppet that they will be operating which is really good and the reason why they are dressed in black. Not many kids has been to puppet show , definitely not my kids, so it is definitely a good introduction to the kids. My older kids even asked how were the puppets’ limb being moved to make it appear so real ( I realised this is probably their first ever puppet show)

The play opened with 2 puppets , a girl name Celeste and a boy name Cosmo who were bickering as they were not interested in the same thing. One of them was interested in the science concept of star while the other find it all to difficult to comprehend and just wanted to play which led them to dislike each other.

Then they came across an owl and a star. Thereafter, the attention was shifted to the star which was in search of her way back home. The star was brought on a journey to the underwater and the outer space to find her place in the universe. This was the highlight of the show. With the use of lighting, luminous props, puppetry, reflective moving disco lights (my 5 year old even commented that she felt like she was moving) and floating coloured balls (which were thrown around much the delight of all the kids) , it was a wonderful spectacle to behold.

The older kids may find it too simplistic as it is more sensorial based rather than story line based (as there are minimal dialogue).  But to my opinion it is perfect for the young kids ( 2 and above) being introduced to theatre productions and those who may not be able to follow new story line or long dialogues.

Do not forgot to stay back for the meet and greet to meet the puppeteer and the Little Star.

As those who are driving, show patrons are no longer allowed to park at the car park of Alliance Francaise building. The nearest buildings to park are Prudential building or Balmoral Plaza which is a stone’s throw from the show.

Little Star
Presented by I Theatre
Dates: Wednesday, 17 August to Sunday, 11 September 2016
Times:
Monday to Wednesday: 10 am
Thursday to Friday: 10 am & 2.30 pm
Saturday and Sunday: 10.30 am & 2.30 pm
Venue: Alliance Francaise Theatre, 1 Sarkies Road, Singapore 258130
Recommended for two to six year olds
Ticket prices: $32 (excluding booking fee)

Tickets available from SISTIC.

 Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post. All photos except the photo of my kids at the musical are credited to ITheatre. 

My kids had waited patiently for a good part of this year for The 3 Little Pigs ever since I told them that they are back this year.  We started the year with the Mandarin version of the 3 Billy Goat Gruffs, followed by the revolutionary collaboration with Imitating the Dog (UK) for Hanuman  and finally after a looonnnnggg wait, my kids most loved production is their highlight for the month of August as they know the story inside out -The Three Little Pigs.

As for me, I am also very eager to see how the English version would match up against my most memorable TLC production which was the Mandarin version of the The Three Little Pigs  back in 2013 (sorry for being a broken record yet again for those who has been following my blog). I would say that I have a rather “biased” view given my high expectations for this production as compared to some one who is watching this for production for the very first time as there were big shoes to be filled.

With Danny Yeo helming the creative direction of this production (he was the director for the Mandarin version as well) , I am sure it will be in the same quality and entertainment value as before. I was hoping for a little twist or difference especially to those who has watched it before. So it is all up to the all new English production’s cast to match up against the previous cast of the Mandarin production. 

Before that, let’s hear what Danny Yeo had to say about this year’s production which had set my expectations way up high even before catching the production.

With all TLC’s production, they opened the show with a very catchy song to set the story line and to introduce the 3 little pigs -Cha, Siu and Bao ( I loved how TLC has localised their production using local puns and terms, which adds the entertainment value to the adult audience).

“There are lots of pig tales big and small, but we think the greatest one of all is the one to do with one, two, three little pigs!”

And this was perhaps the only TLC production we have watched that we know the main songs in and out (all thanks to our TLC volume 2  CD in our car player).

My older kids and I were happily singing along the songs that we were familiar with throughout the show.

And my “biased” view on this much anticipating productions –

With a simple and well known story-line (with some strong family values thrown in it) it is already a sure-win formula. To add a strong cast and catchy songs/tunes, it is a home run!

There is really nothing much to critic – a well-rounded cast with acting and singing powess despite being a new cast to TLC.

Here with their mama pig sending her 3 little pigs off to build their homes away from their crampy pigs’ sty. I am sure many mothers can relate to the same scenario many years down the road.

This is one of the most heart warming scenes in my opinion – family sticks together! Get  it!

And the one who stole the show! the big bad wolf! I supposed the level of entertainment went up many notches all thanks to the very “entertaining” wolf. I guess the big bad wolf is not that scary after all. I didn’t hear any young kids crying in the audience and neither did my younger ones cried or were scared of the big bad wolf. And all thanks to the big bad wolf, the adult audience were also very much entertained!

The actor who played the big bad wolf was exactly how I remembered the actor in the Mandarin productions – suave, charming and had a very good rapport with the audience. That said I still believe some dialogues and jokes are a tad better in the Mandarin productions , no fault to the cast or the script but it is the language! (if you know what I mean especially since the director was the same for both productions). So I gave George Chan (the one who played the wolf in the Mandarin production) a slightly better rating than Ian Chan (in the current production) but props to Ian , it was some pretty big shoes to fill too!

To me, there was no particular age range for this production, my 14 month old enjoyed it as much as my 7 year old ( I would say a lower primary kids would enjoy this production very much too even though its a very simple storyline) Given that it was baby C’s first live show, I must say the 3 little pigs and the big bad wolf did a good job in capturing his attention from the very start with the opening song. The baby literally stopped fidgetting and watched the stage intently at the opening song!

If there is one kids’ theatre production you want to catch this year, this has to be the ONE! And do support an entirely local/Asian cast and production! And for those who has not watched a TLC production before, please book your tickets NOW before the show ends on 17 September as this is one of their best ever productions.

And since it was the morning/afternoon after Joseph Schooling’s historic win, the cast also paid tribute to Joseph’s feat by cheering at the mere mention of Joseph Schooling! Support local all the way!

And if you think there is “biasness” in my review, check out what other parents had to say about the production!

Do remember to bring your little pigs to take photo at the standee for a chance to win tickets to the TLC’s last production of the year – Charlotte’s Web with the hashtag #TLC3Littlepigs

DATES: From 4th August 2016 Monday to Friday 10am; Saturdays 11am and 2pm (extended till 17 September 2016)

VENUE: KC Arts Centre – Home of SRT
TICKETING: SISTIC at 6348 5555 or www.sistic.com.sg

Ticket Pricing (Excludes Booking Fee)

Weekdays
Standard: S$28, S$25
Family Package of 4: S$95 for Cat 1 tickets
Family Package of 4 (with TLC CD Vol.2): S$107 for Cat 1 tickets
Weekends (Sat & Public Holiday)
Standard: S$48, S$38, S$35
Family Package of 4:
Cat 1 (with photo taking): $163
Cat 2 (no photo taking): $129
Family Package of 4 (with TLC CD Vol.2):
Cat 1 (with photo taking): $175
Cat 2 (no photo taking): $141

 Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post. All photos except the photo of my kids/CD at the musical are credited to Singapore Repertory Theatre.

As it is a very first time Shrek made famous in the movies is improvised into a musical and first time ever in Singapore, I really did not know what to expect. Of course, all will know that finally Princess Fiona will be with Shrek for the happily ever after but how will the production incorporated Shrek and his friends and foes into a stage musical production  is something that I am curious to find out with my kids.
2 happy kids and 1 blur baby Shrek

As there are many fairy tale characters which my kids can relate to and being exposed the movie already, I went to the musical with J, C and small J. It was small J first time to a full length musical at Marina Bay Sands. He has come of age (1 more week to 3 years old! ) to join me for full length musicals at Marina Bay Sands Theatre. I remember J’s first musical was Lion King when he was 2.5 years old. Being a first time mum and J’s first musical, it was a 3 adults to 1 kid ratio worrying that he can’t sit through the musical etc or an adult need to bring him out if he cries. 5 years later and 3 more kids added, I am indeed very experienced now so the ratio was reversed, 1 adult to 3 kids! And guess what, small J even though it is his maiden show, but he sat and watch and mesmerised for the entire length of the musical (there is a short intermission), all in all around 2 hours in total. So for those of you who are thinking what is the best age to bring your kids to the musical, well,  based on my experience, 3 will be a good age! But there is a disclaimer too, I wouldn’t say small J has loads of TV time but he is very attentive to movies in cinema , anything of moving picture in nature, so it explains why he could sit and not fidget a single bit. He was scared when the theatre turned dark but being sitted next me he quickly forgotten his fear when the actors came on stage.

Back to the musical proper, I would say it follows the storyline of the original Shrek the movie. It started by showing young Shrek being sent away by his family and Princess Fiona banished in a tower at age 7. FYI young Shrek is acted by a group of  local cast who were selected from a local audition in Singapore held in March.

All the fairy tale characters (my kids had so much fun spotting and recognising the different fairy tale characters) were banished from Duloc (the land that Lord Farquaad rules) to the swamp where Shrek lives alone. Shrek was annoyed by the uninvited visitors and promised to meet Lord Farquard so that the fairy tale characters can return back to their rightful home and away from his swamp. Along the way, he met his soon to be BFF , Donkey. Donkey brought the house down with his funny antics and big voice.

And finally we get to meet Lord Farquaad as you know he is really short in the movie and so too in the musical with special attire and the actor had to performed on his knees through the musical to play the role of pint sized Lord Farquaad. Despite having to dance, walk and performed on his knees, Lord Farquaad, to me stole the show. He is braggy, proud and funny too! He tortured the gingerbread man to make him divulge the location of Princess Fiona , as he needed to marry a princess to be a king. As Fiona is locked in a castle tower guarded by lava and a dragon. When Shrek came to Duloc and met Lord Farquaad, Lord Farquaad offered to give Shrek the deed to his swamp if he were to bring the princess to him.

Shrek and Donkey traveled to the castle and split up to find Fiona. Donkey encountered the dragon , which is a super huge puppet carried by 4 actors  in charge for the different effect of the dragon, eyes, mouth, wings, body and tail. And I must say the dragon sang so well and so real and become J’s favourite part of the show.

There was a heart warming scene whereby 3 Fionas of different ages sang together lamenting when the day will come when the prince charming will rescue her from the tower and that today shall be the day.

Finally, Shrek finds Fiona, in a manner so different from the way she has imagined for the past years, lack of romanticism. All 3 managed to escape the dragon and Fiona was thrilled to be rescued but is quickly disappointed when Shrek reveals he is an ogre. She found new hope of her prince charming when told that Shrek was set by Lord Farquaad to rescue her.

At this time, it was revealed that Fiona will transformed into an orge after sunset and only her true love’s kiss will return her to her love’s true form. Throughout their journey back to Duloc, Shrek and Fiona started to fall in love with each other. The night before reaching Duloc, Shrek wanted to confess his love for Fiona only to eavesdrop hearing that Fiona telling Donkey will never love a beast so ugly which was actually in reference to her being an ogre and not of Shrek.

The next morning, Shrek has brought Lord Farquaad to Fiona. The couple return to Duloc, while a hurt Shrek angrily leaves his friendship with Donkey and returns to his now-vacated swamp, remembering what Fiona “said” about him.

Donkey came back to the swamp to clear the misunderstanding and Shrek knew that he has to stop the wedding at Duloc. Shrek stopped the wedding before Farquaad can kiss Fiona before sunset. He told her that Farquaad is not her true love and only marrying her to become king. The sun sets, which turned Fiona into an ogre in front of everyone in the church. Outraged by Fiona’s change in appearance, Farquaad ordered Shrek killed and Fiona detained. Shrek whistled for Dragon who bursts in along with Donkey and devoured Farquaad. Shrek and Fiona kissed and she discovered her true form is of the orge. The finale  is where all the fairy tale characters celebrated Shrek and Fiona’s union to the tune of I’m a Believer and they lived happily ever after.

I must say the storyline in the musical does follow very closely the original first installment of the Shrek and the Shrek’s Scottish accent was kept just like in the movies! Fiona was just the perfect, fiesty, unconventional princess. Donkey kept the whole musical so comical and upbeat and my personal favourite, Lord Farquaad , I thought it was even better than in the movie and his adult jokes here and there for the adult audiences. Is it suitable and entertaining for kids, based on my 3 kids aged 3 to 7 years of age, they are able to appreciate it although they liked different parts of the musical. My 3 year old wore his Shrek hairband to sleep, that is how much he loved the musical.

Well, there was just 1 complaint, the show didn’t start on time and it dragged on way past 10pm which is a pretty late night for the younger kids. I suspect its due to the ticket goers who are late for the show, so typical of Singaporean.

There is just 1 week more of Shrek the Musical. For true fans of Shrek, please catch this musical as it has done the movie justice. And for the families who are looking for a feel good musical to watch with the kids, this is the one for the holidays!

Shrek The Musical
Date: 08 June (Wed) to 17 June (Sun)
Venue: MasterCard Theatres, Marina Bay Sands
Time:
Wed to Fri: 7.30pm
Sat: 2pm and 7.30pm
Sun: 1pm and 6pm
Ticket price: 
VIP Reserve : S$175
A Reserve : S$155
B Reserve : S$125
C Reserve : S$95
D Reserve : S$65
VIP Box (For 4 seats): S$700
Box Seats (For 4 seats): S$380 Tickets can be purchased from Marina Bay Sands or Sistic.

We had very fond memories of our first ACT 3 workshop last year entitled Jelly, Wobble and when I saw a similar event happening this year, I knew my kids had to do it again!

Once we stepped into ION Art Gallery , the location for SWEET, we kind of forgotten that we are for a workshop. We thought we were invited to a birthday party all decked in candyland theme. As we are arrived earlier, we spend the time taking photos as everything was so SWEET and pretty! Sorry for the photos overload , but it’s just too pretty not too share.

A wall of doughnuts, a wall of inflatable giant cupcakes, a cake as tall as the kids and a ice cream making shop. I just got so inspired to do a similar theme for my girl’s birthday party next year complete with an ice cream parlour….. Sorry, I digress….back to the workshop proper. For this year’s session, the storytelling session was brought to the beginning of the session instead of towards the end. As it was a workshop inspired by the story of Charlie and the chocolate factory, the story teller narrated the famous story by Roald Dahl in 20 minutes. It was a good introduction to kids who are not familiar of the story which has a movie made for it as well. J has not read it before and its time to get add this book into his bookshelf!

Parents were invited for the story-telling session. There were lots of interaction with the kids and the sound effects accompanying the story-telling session make it more interesting, not a dull moment.

After the storytelling session, the parents are asked to leave the venue so that the kids can be rotated between the different stations for their activities. (yay! me-time and shopping time at ION!) I do not have photos to share or much to review so what I gathered were what the kids told me or from their website. The remaining 1.5 hours were divided into an art and craft session to create colourful lollipops ,  ice cream making session which is THE highlight (and they get to eat it thereafter, I was told its Vanilla ice cream) and a drama workshop where the kids can choose to act out their favourite ice cream where they learn to move and physicallise actions through creative expression.

Once again, I am a big fan of the drama classes by ACT 3 especially their holiday camp. However, as a full time working mum, in order to send my kids for it , it would be mean that I had to take 5 days of leave to ferry them to the camp. That is why I especially like this genre of workshop which is a 2 hours session broken into 4 different components comprising a story telling session, art and craft session,  gelato-making session and a drama workshop. Perfect for time-pressed mummy like me and my kids still get a SWEET flavour of a drama class with ACT 3 and some inspired art and craft thrown into it. The kids remembered Princess Lolly in Jelly, Wobble fondly and told me she turned 90 this year (because last year was her 89th birthday). And this year they will remembered Charlie and his adventures and the ice cream they made and tasted!

The workshop runs till 5th June and happens only once a year in June. This year it is incorporated as part of the Art3i Festival which you can read more about it here. I really hope that ACT 3 can do a similar workshop for the December holidays! Oh, and while  I was at ION ART, I discovered that you can actually take the lift next to the gallery all the way up to the 55th floor for ION SKY which is an observation deck and its FREE!  Do bring the kids for a walkabout if you are there for the afternoon session before the workshop or after the workshop. Opened every day from 3 to 6pm.

ION Art Gallery, ION Orchard

SWEET has been incorporated as part of ACT3’s newly launched  called ACT3i Festivalcoincidentally during the June school holidays (24 May to 5 June) whereby they have brought in 6 international and inspiring theatre performances that will include works from Singapore, Italy, Sweden, Argentina, the U.K. and Canada for kids age 2 to 12 years old.

For more information on how to book, please see link here.

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored review. No monetary compensation was received, and all opinions are my own.