Claytime – Tobacco Factory Theatre

IndefiniteArticles
Claytime
Sunday 5 April

Chopsy Baby’s visit to the Tobacco Factory to watch Claytime by Indefinitearticles, was a typical example of when theatre goes wrong for parents.

Having had to make the four mile walk across Bristol due to a lack of Sunday morning buses, it was gutting when tragedy struck and we had to leave within the first two minutes.

Apparently to a two and a half year old child, a saxophone and lump of clay is the most terrifying thing imaginable. The show is aimed at ages three years and above, but we took a real theatre loving toddler who has attended regularly and actively since the age of four months old. His sudden terror was a complete shock and surprise. There was nothing frightening in the least about the first minute that we could see.

Having to leave so soon after working so hard to get there was actually quite gut wrenching, and outside it was an emotional parental moment on North Street, next to the organic market.

The Tobacco Factory is a studio theatre, this meant our walk of shame with screaming child took us from one side of the theatre, across the stage and out the exit on the other side. We had to walk through the actors who took our exit as a performance opportunity.

In the short time we were there, we did feel that better use could have been made of the spacing. More children could have been allowed to sit around the sides of the action instead of all up front. Some toddlers and children can also get anxious when separated from their parents who were sat in the gloom behind them. For this reason we were also a little surprised that we were moved out of one of the seating sections where the children could see us just prior to the show starting, further unsettling them when we moved to a place where they couldn’t. There was no markings telling us we could not sit there.

We managed to catch up with mum Joyce White, who had taken her three year old child Emma as her birthday treat. Joyce said: “It was good. They got the children to lead the direction of the story and at the end they all made a clay object. It would have been nice to have had more hands on clay time, but I can appreciate the mayhem it would cause. The children were all loving it and that is the most important thing. I would recommend it to other parents.”

The Tobacco Factory is still one of the best places to get your child going to the theatre. It represents excellent value for money, and if your child is going to hate theatre or be scared, then it is better to try them out when the ticket price is just £5.00 rather than a £60.00 family ticket to the pantomime.

The theatre’s season is also excellent with really innovative and imaginative shows programmed in for children. Even when theatre goes wrong, Chopsy Baby still recommends the Tobacco Factory Theatre above every other performance venue in Bristol.

http://tobaccofactorytheatre.com