“You’re not a real bird. You’re just pretending,” says the three-year-old sitting in front of me at the start of the latest interactive show from Oily Cart. Before you can say lullaby, she’s joining in. If there’s one thing that is learned over the next 45 minutes, it is that pretending is lots of fun.
Playing in two versions, one for the very young (six months to two years), and the other for three- to five-year-olds, Hush-a-Bye takes us to the top of the trees where the birds make their nests. Entering the space, we go past bird boxes with tiny peepholes through which we can glimpse twiggy, jewelled nests. Then it’s into the theatre where the children sit on benches in a semi circle and help Grandma and Grandpa birds make a nest and look after a baby bird.
This show is as much about making and doing as watching, situated at a point where arts and crafts meet theatre. The youngsters are encouraged to collaborate in an imaginative make-believe world. Gold rain falls from the sky and a baby yelps in wonder. Worms appear and wriggle, a banana moon hangs in the sky, baby birds must be cuddled and fed.
Eventually an adventurous flying human baby (a pie-eyed puppet made by Sue Dacre) is discovered in the canopy of leaves and must be cared for by the children until her mother retrieves her and she is rocked to sleep. It is delightful stuff, enhanced by musician Kadialy Kouyate, who sings hauntingly and plays a lute-like west African instrument called a kora.
As ever with Oily Cart, the interaction between audience and performers is beautifully judged, and there are familiar Oily Cart ideas on display – from the fine mists of rain to the soft feel of fluffy material on your hands and the scent of rosemary on a twig in a nest. But rather than telling a story in which those distinctive elements feature, they have largely become the show itself. The balance is out of kilter, and there is just not quite enough content, character and narrative to make for a really satisfying experience for all.
- At Arts Depot until 31 December. Box office: 020 8369 5454. Touring until 18 February, www.oilycart.org.uk
