Sing Along With the Fairy Song is Edinburgh Fringe for Early Years. An elegant wooden chair, a stool, two pedestals of white roses, a projection of frolicking fairies, bird song and the veteran storyteller for children, Janis Mackay, warmly welcome a select audience.
Mackay is experienced with little ones and greets the fairy-winged and magic-wanded little people with charm and encouragement. This is an interactive piece and the young audience repeat the actions and songs with enthusiasm as they join Mackay in an imaginary hunt for fairies in the woods or hiding amid the flowers and maybe secretly living under miniature hillocks.
It took a little time to teach the songs and draw out flower and tree names from the youngsters, but once over their shyness, three little girls did not want to leave the stage. And who can blame them? “I like this story,” one of them piped up.
Mackay’s previous Fringe show included live music and I personally missed that element. However, one cannot doubt Mackay’s splendid story-telling skills and her deft understanding of how to get the best out of a little one’s imagination. We need more about the natural world and its magical qualities for the next generation. We want them to be able to draw pictures in their mind’s eye.
If you are looking for fifty minutes of gentle, traditional storytelling based on the magical realm for your favorite little people, this could just fit the bill.
Reviewer: Kathleen Mansfield
Reviewed: 7th August 2024
North West End UK Rating: