Telling Tales with The Fantastical Story Factory

If your children could set their imaginations free and create a musical production, what would it be like?

That is the premise of The Fantastical Story Factory, a 60-minute improvised show where the audience gets to decide the where the story is set, who the characters are, and what happens every step of the way. It’s improv theatre for kids — where every suggestion, no matter how silly, is carried through to create one big crazy, funny story.

My kids have not experienced improv theatre before, and when I explained it to them, they were interested but a bit wary. “I hope they won’t ask me,” said Noey. Definitely famous last words there.

The set was simple but the moment the actors stepped on stage, we knew it was going to be an interactive show where the audience is part of the action. For a start, they didn’t even turn down the lights in the audience, but instead left them on. Then the actors came on stage and started singing, incorporating in their lyrics descriptions of members of the audience. The children was so tickled! The skill required went right over their heads but the adults like myself were impressed. Not just with the performers ability to conjure up something on the spot, but also with their coordination, especially with the musicians who provided the music. The ice was broken, and when the performers started warming up the crowd, the children gamely started shouting along.

So when they started asking for suggestions for the setting of the musical, both my kids’ hands shot into the air, Noey’s initial reluctance to be involved totally forgotten. That was how our story came to be set in the dungeon of a magical kingdom. The dungeon was run by a picky dungeon master, Alexander the Great. (he was just like Goldilocks, you see.) One day, Alexander is visited by Princess Piggy, who unfortunately was Piggy in name and in nature. Picky Alexander felt she was too dirty and asks her to leave, not knowing that she was in love with him. Hurt Princess Piggy runs away and her angry father, the King (who is in the habit of killing people) comes to look for Alexander. He forgives Alexander for hurting his daughter on condition that he brings her back. Princess Piggy is meanwhile at a volcano telling her troubles to an angry volcano wizard named Violent. She asks him to take her life but before he can do so, Alexander arrives. He falls to his knees and tells Princess Piggy that he loves her and wants to kill her and is sorry for eating her bananas. (Yes, really.) Fortunately, all is well in the end as the picky Alexander and Piggy Princess learn to accept each other.

Whew, fantastical and nonsensical it certainly was!

The children lapped it up. They both kept trying to volunteer answers and were kept laughing along the whole time. Not to be content with that, when they asked for volunteers to be little piggies with Princess Piggy, Noey managed to get on stage. I don’t know who was more thrilled, him or us! Haha. On stage the little piggies got join in a sequence of wriggling their bums, rubbing mud on themselves, oinking loudly and waving to their adoring audience. Noey loved it. Not to be outdone, the second time they called for volunteers, Mei zoomed up too!

Needless to say, the kids loved this first taste of improv theatre. Noey rated it “10 out of 10!” and Mei “100!”. They were still talking about it at bedtime so I know it certainly left an impression. The Fantastical Story Factory has two more shows at 3pm tomorrow Sat 2 May and on Sun 3 May. For more ticketing details, do refer to my previous post. There’s an adult version — Showstopper! The Improvised Musical — that I’m now dying to see. If you do watch any of these shows over the next few days, do tell me how your story turned out!

 

*We received tickets to this production for the purpose of this review. All opinions are nonetheless based on my own personal experience and remain my own.