Peculiar Plants and the Ants Who Dance

If you have been in and out of the Middar Room as part of your FringeWorld travels, entering for Peculiar Plants and the Ants Who Dance, feels quite different. Handed a flower to hold, you will find that the front few rows of chairs have disappeared and been replaced with comfy cushions, and the low stage is set with a reasonably complex set.

This primarily dance and movement show is designed for children. A wordless show, it uses dance, puppetry and soundscape to tell a story that lets children who feel left out know that they are not alone.

Performed by Estelle Brow, Izzy Leclezio and Jo Cooper, I am not sure that the plot is completely coherent, but these performers move well and show beautiful teamwork. The show looks gorgeous, with set, prop, costume (and presumably mask) design by Leisl Lucerne-Knight visually appealing with a sense of magic. Supportive compositional sound design by Liam Downey is lovely, as is the lighting design by Matthew Erred.

A highlight is the children’s interactive yoga class that follows the show - and although the session I attended was low on audience, with only a handful of children present, it was clear that they thoroughly enjoyed an appreciated this imagination-based yoga class, led by Estelle Brow - as did many of the adults.