“More thought, less crudeness and this could be a 5 star children’s show”
La Petite Soirée is the family version of La Soirée currently playing at the Aldwych Theatre until February. The website promises this as a children’s version of the main show without the sauce.
The Aldwych Theatre is a great setting for this show and the layout of the stage, lighting and atmospheric smoke makes you feel like you are in a cosy cabaret club. The “posh” seats on the stage offer a great view and maximum audience participation. The “ringside” seats offer fantastic vantage points for the acrobats and gymnasts – at times, if you are sat in the front row, you can reach out and touch the performers! The main stalls seating has some restricted views so make sure you choose wisely.
The gymnasts and acrobats need no tailoring of their performance for the younger audience. Mallakhamb India, L J Marles and Lea Hinz wow the audience with their amazing stunts, suppleness and agility. Their performances have the children wide eyed and mouths opens with their feats of strength and dexterity. Michelle Clarke hits the stage with a mystic and magical quality. She has the ability to make her hula hoops float through the air as if they are defying gravity – her performance is mesmerising.
Amy G gives a unique performance that is perfectly pitched for the younger audience. It has none of the crudeness or cringe worthiness of her evening show. She has both children and adults rolling with laughter and engages with the children in the audience.
Cabaret Decadanse could have been better pitched to the younger audience by choosing songs which would have engaged the younger audience better. I felt that it was unnecessary for one of the puppeteers to have her top ripped open and expose her underwear. This added nothing to the performance and I thought that it was slightly inappropriate for a children’s show.
Daredevil Chicken had the potential to engage with the young audience as their humour is slightly slapstick. Unfortunately this was not toned down enough for a children’s show Although funny in places their short skits had a crudeness which just wasn’t appropriate for the youthful clientele.
The show is just an hour long which makes you feel you have been slightly short changed. The show felt a little too short – its was over almost as it had begun. With the incredible talent they have in the main show La Petite version could be a huge hit, but they are missing the mark. The show needs to be more tailored to the younger market. It is an edited version of the main show which doesn’t seem to have had much thought behind how it has been cut down.
They have the potential to offer a knockout children’s production which would make a great Christmas treat but as it stands it is vastly lacking! More thought, less crudeness and this could be a 5 star children’s show.
