Badjelly the Witch Glow Show: A magical theatre experience for tamariki

Badjelly the Witch Glow Show is fun for all ages and will leave adults and tamariki alike with a renewed love of the classic Spike Milligan tale. Photo / LK Creative

One thing that was never in question before the Badjelly the Witch Glow Show started was that it would be loud.

Aimed at a young audience, the show packed the theatre with lots of tamariki and their responsible adults, all ready to have a good time. And as soon as the lights went down – or rather glowed up – a good time was certainly had.

Yes, it was noisy. But it was the good type of noisy – the theatre was full of good, old-fashioned belly laughs – especially when Lucy the Cow did her bit for global warming.

While the storyline, as is true of anything from the pen of Spike Milligan, is always guaranteed to capture the attention of a young audience, the real magic comes from the creativity this production brings to the stage.

Sarah Burren, the creative director of the Glow Show, handmade all the stage costumes and they are all equally fantastic – with Dullboot being a crowd favourite, especially after the trouser thieves strike. Jim the Eagle possibly stole the show, judging from the reactions of the smaller people sitting near me, while my own mini-reviewer, a more (allegedly) mature 13-year-old, said his favourite was Lucy the Cow – both for her costume and “for how she moved”.

Despite being a bit older than the target audience, my mini-reviewer was full of praise for this show and was entranced throughout, especially as characters jumped, twisted and turned around on stage, leaving him scratching his head trying to work out just how they did all that.

The answer is down to the incredibly clever, and athletic, puppeteers who really do bring the story, and each character, to life. Even when it is, quite literally, just a pair of hands on stage.

The voices of the characters are equally well delivered. From the screech of the witch, the low tones of the gormless giant and the scared children through to the omnipotent being himself, every character’s voice is perfectly pitched throughout.

The set design is bright, glowing at the audience from the moment they take their seats, and brilliantly effective. It feels like being inside a cartoon and adds to the overall fantastical feel of the show – this is a place where imagination is in the spotlight, and our inner silliness is invited to come out and play.

The show is truly magical. From the creative and effective costumes, the talent of the voice actors, and the effective lighting through to the storyline itself, the overall effect is one of pure magic and imagination – which is just, in my opinion, what theatre should be.

Thanks to Burren and her team, Badjelly the Witch Glow Show is introducing a new generation of theatregoers to all that theatre can be – a place where we go to laugh, to have fun, and to let our imagination take hold.

Ilona Hanne is a Taranaki-based journalist and news director who covers breaking and community news from across the lower North Island.