Presented by Get Lost and Found, Roald Dahl and the Imagination Seekers is an immersive and interactive theatre show for children, based on the beloved works of Roald Dahl.
In the show, Robbie Capaldi and Nerine Skinner’s characters form the Ancient Guild of Tale Tenders – an organisation designed to protect the world and stories of Roald Dahl, with Robbie playing Terry, the absent-minded Tale Tender, and Nerine playing Brenda, his eager assistant.
However, things aren’t running as smoothly as they could be at the guild; when urged by Brenda to read one of Roald Dahl’s works, Terry is horrified to discover that the words have been snatched from the pages by the dreaded Wurble Gobblers.
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As an interactive show, the audience is tasked with helping the Tale Tenders to save the works of Roald Dahl from disappearing from the world forever.
The show is entirely immersive, with a strong focus on audience interactivity and imagination to drive the plot forward.
“There’s this big improvisation section and that’s always really fun because you never know what they’re going to say,” Nerine states, on working with an audience of children, “things you would have never even thought about – you just get thrown curveballs … things that are so kind of far-fetched that in a normal setting you wouldn’t even be able to think of, but in that setting you all come together for a moment and talk absolute nonsense.”
“Part of the joy of being a creator is being thrown into situations where you’re not comfortable, you’re not in your little comfort zone and through that comes the most creative ideas, when you’re really pushed into a situation that’s new,” continues Robbie, “that’s what this show does really nicely with the improvised sections where we rely on the audience to dictate the direction of the show and that can take us to outrageously impossible situations that we have to solve, and be quick on our feet and they have to be quick on their feet as well – it keeps everything electric.”
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On developing the works of Roald Dahl for an interactive audience, Nerine remembers that “we took ourselves back to reading and tried to find what parts we loved the most and its always normally the silly stuff that resonates – it’s that playful silliness that as adults we often forget but children are living that all the time.”
“I’m a massive kid at heart – most performers are,” says Robbie, “something that we try to keep alive in our work is that connection to childhood play and silliness … and the unexpected, which is what Roald Dahl is at its core. You never quite know what’s coming next, there’s always a twist, always a curveball, always something lurking around the corner that could change the story completely – that spontaneity really keeps it alive and keeps that Dahl energy, for the kids and for the adults.”
Roald Dahl and the Imagination Seekers was developed originally in the UK as a stage show for schools and has had several successful runs at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
“I think that goes to show how universal Roald Dahl is,” states Nerine on bringing the show halfway across the globe, “even the show and what that does for children, it just brings out something that’s so wonderful, there’s an excitement that you can’t pin down to any particular area.
“We’ve done it all over the UK and this is the first time internationally and it’s just as exciting and fresh each time.”
For Nerine, returning to the stage has been “really rewarding – after the pandemic a lot of children have probably been stuck looking at screens – perhaps they haven’t been encouraged to explore things in the same way … so it’s a celebration of that as well.”
Robbie’s favourite part of performing so far has been “being in Australia – I love doing the show but the joy of being able to travel again, go somewhere new, meet new people … the sunshine doesn’t hurt at all – there are a few other international performers at the (Adelaide) Fringe which is lovely to see, it feels like we’re tentatively getting back to a bit of normality which is always lovely”.
Roald Dahl and the Imagination Seekers is showing at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival from the 12-24 April and is suitable for audiences aged 6-12. Grab tickets and find out more information here.
