(5 / 5)

Grand Ambition’s new play, ‘HOP- The Hopeful Hare,’ by Michelle McTernan, Steve Balsamo and John Quirk, was such a lovely story exploring love and grief through puppetry, song, and (lots of) vegetables!

Immediately when you enter the theatre, the setting and atmosphere conveyed the tone of the piece. They had birdsong through the speakers, a tree, plenty of plants, a plant bed with potatoes, carrots, peas, and cabbages, a wheelbarrow, and to the left in front of a shed was a deckchair, radio and coffee table. This was contained by a small section of blue fence to the left of the stage, with one wonky post. Even the front row of seats was covered in a hessian fabric to add to the outdoor, nature feel.

Images by Kirsten McTernan

The back of the stage showed a projection with blue skies and clouds, which was effectively utilised during the production for accessibility in captions as well as moments of animation. (I would like to mention also, that the performance I went to see was a BSL interpreted performance, which is great to see is happening more and more, not just on professional tours but also local and amateur ones.)

The story follows Grandpa, who every morning marks the day on his calendar before sitting in his deckchair and listening to Gardeners’ Question Time on the radio. Sometimes Grandpa was very receptive to the host and guest speaker, remarking on whether they were in Swansea or grumbling about them being in Cardiff or Aberystwyth. Other days, he would just turn it off.

During the first day, Grandpa strokes a well-loved toy rabbit and a happy birthday card, which immediately grabs the audience’s attention, making not only the young ones intrigued into a painful part of the character’s life, but the adults as well.

There are also animated scenes on the projection that explain Grandpa’s grumpiness, which is, of course, grief, in a much more powerful way than words could’ve done. When his wife died, he grieved her so much that he shut out his son in the process. The son walked away from their relationship to have his own partner and child.

Birds and slugs try to enter his garden every day, and every day Grandpa shoos them away. The slugs grumble as they leave. This was one of the many comedic elements, which combine well with the deeper tone of the piece.

At night, the hare (called Hop) enters, munching on the vegetables in the plant bed. Every night they go down, and Grandpa tries to stay awake to catch who, or what, is eating his crop.

Grandpa develops a relationship with Hop during the production revealing difficulties for his past but offering positivity for the future.

The set, animation, puppetry and original song came together to create a wonderful, heart-warming story that can connect with all ages, and was effective in teaching kids about grief and loss but also reminding all of the importance of working together with nature and animals.

I recommend this piece and wish there was more of this around, because now more than ever, kids need live theatre to connect to human stories in a physical way, away from screens.

Images by Kirsten McTernan