Roger Moroney: Night out at a show had me booing

Saffron (left) and Holly - two of the young stars of the show. Photo / Supplied

Last Saturday I yelled at some people on a stage.

But I had to ... because everyone else was.

And two of the people on the stage needed to be yelled at for the other person on the stage at that time was not a particularly pleasant sort and appeared intent on ruining their night.

Oh, and there were a few hisses and boos as the evening progressed which would have delighted those who had driven the event, for they wanted to hear hisses and boos and occasional yelling directed at those on the stage.

Which I guess is kind of opposite what direction and production crews want at their shows but this was a show built for audience interaction.

It was also one of those which gave some youngsters a first taste at putting on a costume and absorbing themselves into a whole new character.

A character who could draw together lots of other youngsters who may have also been getting their first taste of a big bright show on a stage before their eyes.

We had wandered along to watch Bad Jelly the Witch, the classic little kids' tale penned by the eccentrically brilliant Spike Milligan.

For we wandered along as proud family of one of the stars ... little Rose who along with her big brother Tim gets lost while searching for their lost cow.

Granddaughter Saffron was making her stage debut as Rose and yes, there had been nerves in the wake of her getting the nod for the role, and there were long hours of rehearsal, and the determination to put it all together seamlessly for the matinee and evening shows over three nights.

She was sparked along by the others in the cast who had clearly been on stages before, and this is the whole grand ethic of the Real Theatre Company crew who put it all together under the auspices of David Coddington.

It's all about making kids laugh and making kids think and getting young imaginations to spark.

It's about bringing well crafted children's theatre to town and Bad Jelly was the second of a planned eight productions on the schedule.

Kids' shows are fun, because they inevitably involve the audiences. And that spreads to the big kids who take the little kids.

Roger Moroney is an award-winning journalist for Hawke's Bay Today and observer of the slightly off-centre.

For when Tim and Rose were lost and Bad Jelly (bearing a wicked green complexion and a nose like an arrow) started to creep up behind them, I could hear adult voices amidst those of the kids in the audience crying out "she's behind you!"

So yep, they'd turn around and Bad Jelly would step out of sight and so they turned back to face us ... and she appeared again.

A couple of kids down from where we were stood up while yelling and pointing their warnings.

And oh how we all hissed when the bad witch trapped Tim and Rose and piled them into a large bag.

I guess the official term for such reactions is "audience participation" although the more common phrase would be "having good fun".

And there was plenty of that.

And plenty of photos in the foyer afterwards as the cast lined up to meet with the kids who had enjoyed the adventure.

There were no golden pay cheques for the cast ... they simply did it for fun and like our granddaughter probably set off some sparks in the heads of some of those kids who watched.

One day they might be in a show, and have lots of fun. It was refreshing to see entertainment from the heart.

It was simple and easy to watch ... and boo at when witchy approached.

The following day I watched coverage of another event designed to draw in an audience. But it was all generated by the commercial and financial madness which today drives global sports.

Where venues are effectively decided by who has the most money, and where putting the events out to the public is also down to who can come up with the most cash. And in many cases that public gets a rough deal.

It's like putting a world cup on at the time known to be susceptible to typhoons, and selling the plan on the notion that "contingency plans" were locked in should such a thing occur.

Such a thing has occurred and hardly a contingency plan in sight.

The drivers (management) of this global rugby event seem to have forgotten their lines now.

We should have got them tickets to see Bad Jelly the Witch ... all lines carefully learned and beautifully delivered.