Edinburgh Fringe 2015
Defrosted
Once upon a Parachute
Genre: Children's Theatre, Clown
Venue: Free Sisters
Festival: Edinburgh Fringe
Low Down
“A series of ridiculous events. Love Frozen or hate it, you will laugh your stripy socks off at these two lovable clowns and their puppet rock band. Join Nicko the beardy Australian and Cat from CBBC’s comedy sketch show FIT (and a brand new CBeebies show out soon) for a fun, dynamic and super-silly show.”
Review
Energy doesn’t dip for a moment is a show that is set in a realm of snow and ice. The movie and songs of Frozen are never far away but this show is much more than a parody of that film. This is a full-hearted hour of entertainment for younger ones and the two performers give 110% energy matched only be their many and varied performance skills. Much is rooted in clown and knockabout humour, song and silly set pieces. Silly for all the right reasons.
This piece is all about audience interaction and there’s a bit of a bias towards those sitting in the front row. I’d like to have seen the performers come a bit more into the audience and get the back rows more involved.
“Are you ready for Defrosted ? “We all scream “Yeah!”. We are in the fjords of Norway.
Lots of comedy abounds, and in places I wish this show were lit a bit better. It certainly deserves better lighting to match the fairly decent sound quality. The two performers command the stage and the style is children’s TV mixed with panto audience interaction, a few special effects and some delightful puppets.
The children got very involved from the start and what I liked was the stage presence of the two performers who kept interest up right until the end. There was plenty to see and laugh at.
Colourful costumes and sets combine with some clown set pieces to offer a show that will keep your children well engaged, amused and entertained. A lot of the fun is delivered simply using vocal skills and physical comedy – these are capable hosts who are able to hold the space and they project well – almost too well, distorting the microphone sound too much in places. But it rarely interferes with the sheer variety as we move from those knockabout set pieces, songs and banter. A magic freezer had the children in rapt attention with total stillness and silence achieved, the kids wanting to find out what would happen next. This is a show that regularly sparked curiosity.
We also learn a few interesting things along the way delivered on the wings of plenty of mine and comedy. The toddlers hooted with laughter and the challenge here is to ensure it all reaches right to the back of the fairly long performance space at Maggie’s Chamber. That said, there’s so much going on in the show I think everyone in the space was kept interested, if not all equally involved. So, sit near the front! I really enjoyed the zany and chaotic bits that were always skilfully anchored in a well structured show with an accessible and simple narrative.
A thoroughly enjoyable no-nonsense nonsense show. Defrosted is a little iced gem on the Free Fringe.
