The Great Teddy Bear Escape
About
The Great Teddy Bear Escape is a 30-minute storytelling show for 3 to 5 year old children filled with comic characters, movement and music.
The children are having a teddy bear hunt so the teddies have to sit at the windows of their houses. The children count the teddies as they walk or zoom past on their bikes.
One young teddy can’t sit still! He is so bored! Why can’t he go and play? The other teddies tell him to sit still and watch out for the children. It is impossible, his legs start to jiggle, his fingers click, he wriggles and squirms. He looks out the window and plans to escape.
That night he creeps out of the house and begins an adventure. He meets a watchful cat, a ravenous rat, a poetic possum and a tell-tale tui who all teach him about his neighbourhood. He sees a teddy disco in the neighbour’s house and suddenly misses his teddy friends. For the first time he feels what it is like to be cold and lonely. Tipped off by the tell-tale tui his family’s dog rescues him and restores him to his place at the window. Teddy realises he can play his part by cheering up the other bored teddies with stories from his great escape.
Details
Cost: $140 (+GST)
Duration: 30 minutes
Age suitability: 3 to 5 years
Reviews
Nicola Dickie, Head of School, Mana Montessori, Porirua:
Thank you, Beth, we enjoyed the comedy and interactive, engaging nature of your show. It was cleverly done, you managed the young audience well, and the children and teachers had a lovely time.
Karen Doyle, Head Teacher, Taradale Kindergarten:
Hi Beth, we really enjoyed your show. The children are still talking about it and it inspired some lovely imaginative stories and art work. Please let us know if you are coming back to the Bay any time, we would love to have you return.
Anna Biggelaar, Orewa Beach Kindergarten:
Hello Beth, we just wanted to say another big thank you for your lovely show today. We had lovely feedback from parents as they were leaving. Our children were captivated.
Glenda Morris, Principal P.A, Red Hill School, Papakura:
Hi Beth, just wanted to thank you very much for the “Great Teddy Bear Escape” you performed here during the week. The children absolutely “LOVED IT”. It was wonderful to hear all the laughter from them and they were still talking about the show for hours afterwards.
Julie Killick, Head Teacher, Chelsea Kindergarten, Auckland
‘The Great Teddy Bear Escape’ is a fun filled one woman show performed by Beth Kayes. Our Kindergarten children were thoroughly entertained with her superb characterisations and fabulous physical theatre skills. Beth weaves a story of a Teddy bear who just can’t sit still in the window during our Covid lockdown, makes a great escape and has a drama filled overnight adventure! There is music, singing and dancing and the children are given several opportunities to move their bodies to help act out the story. Our children thought the show was hilarious and were thoroughly engaged in the performance. Several parents also attended the show and they all said they thought it was great and would also be really enjoyed by junior school children. It is so great to see New Zealand theatre like this being created and I’m sure it will support children in processing the Covid lockdown experience they have just been through.
(Thank you to Trinity Kindergarten and Marlborough Kindergarten for the photos.)