Michael Rosen's puppets point way to isle full of noises

Published: 13th May, 2011
by PETER GRUNER

POET and writer Michael Rosen, the former Children’s Laureate, spoke this week about the joys of bringing Shakespeare to very young children with the aid of puppets.

He was talking about his new puppetry show, The Magician’s Daughter, which will be performed at Islington’s Little Angel Theatre in association with the Royal Shakespeare Company from the end of the month.

In this gentle and humorous story, a sequel to the Little Angel’s ­version of The Tempest, Miranda has grown up and tells her daughter about a faraway time when she lived on a magical island with her father Prospero.

Using Little Angel’s trademark blend of puppetry and song, Miranda’s daughter discovers for herself the “isle full of noises”, where her mother lived long ago along with Ariel and Caliban.

Michael said: “We try and use as many Shakespearean lines as we can. There’s stuff about toads and ‘where the bee sucks there suck I’. We play around with the speech by Caliban and the isle full of noises.”

Talking about his own childhood, he said his parents introduced him to the Bard at the age of seven. “We went to see plays by Shakespeare, sometimes directed by my dad, who was an English teacher.

“Dad used to tell me and my brother the story of a particular Shakespeare play and to look out for certain things he thought we’d enjoy. He’d sometimes know the lines and would quote bits at us. When we got to see the play it somehow felt quite familiar.”

Michael added that the attraction of Shakespeare for very young children is that it is thought in action. “You hear what people think and are constantly getting a running commentary,” he said. “Not a lot of film and telly does that.”

His two favourite Shakespeare plays are Romeo and Juliet, because it deals with love and manipulation, and King Lear, because it is a tragedy that also deals with social responsibility. 

“Every time I see a Shakespeare play I see something new and different,” he said.

The 40-­minute play, which is on at the theatre in Dagmar Passage from May 28 to July 10, is directed by Peter Glanville and the puppets are designed and made by Lyndie Wright.

For more information and to book call 020 7226 1787 or visit www.littleangeltheatre.com