INTERVIEW | Rachael Canning and Hannah Mulder discuss Kite.
Kite is a play without words. Inspired by the world of indoor-kite flying and well-known stories such as The Snowman and The Red Balloon comes a story about a recently orphaned girl who will be taken on a wild adventure all down to a kite discovered in her Grandma's obsessively tidy flat. Little does she know that Grandma has magic of her own and the wind will bring them together in ways they never would have imagined.
Heading to Warwick Arts Centre on the 18th and 19th February is this gorgeous production from The Wrong Crowd Theatre Company. Kite will inspire and spark joy in everyone seven and over with their imaginative storytelling, exquisite puppetry and design, dance, originally composed music and the kites.
"We aren't very good at talking about grief and loss. We've all had personal experiences, but they can be hidden stories"
The brains behind the production; co-director and designer/puppet designer Rachael Canning and co-director Hannah Mulder discuss more about the foundations of Kite and the sensitivity of grief as a topic for a production aimed for young audiences. "We aren't very good at talking about grief and loss. We've all had personal experiences, but they can be hidden stories" Mulder explains, "It isn't a subject that is explored much in theatre for young people, but so many people experience". Hannah remembers when Kite was staged for the first time and lots of people would say to us "thank you for telling this story". As Canning says "there's something quite solemn and transcendent, as well as joyous, about watching kites flying. There's a fragility to them. Grief somehow felt like a natural theme to accompany that".
Kite tells the story of a child who has recently lost her mother and has to live with her grandmother. "They're forced into a situation where they are living together during a really difficult time" says Rachael. Hannah goes on to say that "they're both struggling to communicate with each other. We evolved an idea that there would be no words in the show, partly as a creative challenge to ourselves but also because it reflects how they're feeling. They literally don't know what to say".
Kites are the main prop in the production so what brought them into a piece that is driven by such a raw emotion. "I designed the puppets for a dance version of Kes at Sheffield Crucible in which we used kites in place of the birds," says Rachael, "I thought it was a beautiful image and would be a great basis for a show with The Wrong Crowd. So we started thinking about a story inspired by the indoor kite-flying.".
Hannah explains that they did some research and development and soon realised "pretty quickly that the kite couldn't be the main character in itself. But we thought it would work really well in relationship with a human character, and it seemed to make sense that the character should be a child".
Kite sounds like a production that will break down barriers surrounding difficult subject topic matter. Rachael notes that it is a "show for everyone. The themes are universal, and we tell the story using a range of techniques".
Remember you can catch Kite at Warwick Arts Centre between 18-19 February. You can book your tickets here.