We Are The Monsters at The Lowry Review
We Are The Monsters
The Lowry, Manchester
9 October 2016
Reviewed by Rebecca Banasko
I visited The Lowry to watch We Are The Monsters with my 4 year old boy. He’s pretty obsessed with all things monster related and Halloween right now so I thought this would be perfect for him. I also toyed with the idea of bringing my 1 year old but I’d read that it is aimed at 4-8 year olds so decided not to take her. As we entered the small studio theatre the stage was set with a wall of seemingly empty cardboard boxes. As soon as the show started the attention of my son was captured – movement – a monster perhaps? Did that box move? Is there something in that box? What’s that? The studio was quiet with the eyes of numerous children all glued to the stage waiting to see what might appear in front of them. The excitement built with strange sights and sounds and then the ‘monsters’ emerged.
The forms that we saw were fascinating for young and old alike. We could only imagine how many of the shapes were achieved through the contortion of bodies and the help of props, as the most innovative use of clothing I’ve ever seen. The sound and lighting was used to help us follow this short snap-shot of what these monsters were.
My little boy was so intrigued and started asking lots of questions, also stating loudly that he’s not scared of monsters as did many other children in the audience. It was fun, funny and something completely different.
The show lasted approximately 35 minutes, which was spot on as by that time the children were starting to get restless. This was followed by a short talk to engage the children and introduce the different monsters as well as their key character traits. After seeing them perform it was interesting to add more information to what we thought we already knew about them. At this point the children were invited up to meet some of the monsters and have a photo taken if they wished. Although they’d all exclaimed very loudly that they weren’t at all scared of monsters a few of the children were still a bit wary but their curiosity won and they ventured onto the stage.
I understand the age guidance but I really could have brought my 1 year old, she would have really enjoyed the visual aspect. The tickets retail for between £5.50-£8.50 which I think is a great price to pay for almost an hour of fun with your little person. But also for the fact that it is something so unusual. It gets a 4/5 from me, I think a little more could have been made of the end activity but I definitely left with one happy little boy.
Rating: 4/5
For more information and tour dates visit dance4.co.uk.
For other shows at The Lowry visit www.thelowry.com.
The Lowry, Pier 8, Salford Quays, Manchester, M50 3AZ | 0843 208 6000
