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| The Fizzywiggers |
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| Reviews and comments for Mr Fizzwigg’s Story Factory:
Craig Ricci Shaynak/Kingswell Productions; Sweet Grassmarket, Apex City Hotel
Primary Times
Mr Fizzywig’s Story Factory is marvellous. In the space of one hour Mr Fizzywig shows the children how to write a story and then gets them to both create it and act it.
We first see Mr Fizzywig exhausted. He has been up all night trying to write a story to appease his grandfather so that he will not sell the Story Factory. Mr Fizzywig hasn’t had much success, cue the audience! In order to help the children with their characters, he has a truly wonderful Giant Wheel of Silly Voices, which they get to spin, and a hilarious zany hat to match each silly voice. We had a Scottish Viking penguin, a purple King, a movie star pilot and a Russian dynamite fanatic but the possibilities are endless. And so the fun begins…..!
The success of this performance lies in its simplicity. The beauty of story telling and story writing are celebrated, as is the combined creative genius of the children involved. The excitement and tension of the spinning wheel is not to be underestimated (we loved it), as is the powerful dramatic effect of a simple hat.
There is no pressure on the children to perform. Both my daughters (6 and 8) were feeling rather shy at the time of the show. Predictably, five minutes later on the way home they were lamenting ‘ I wish I’d gone on the stage now’ and ‘I wish I’d spun the wheel at the end’ …(aaaagh!)
Our favourite part of the show was Mr Fizzywig himself. He is hugely talented with his dazzling array of accents and personas and ultimately very likeable. There was a palpable feel-good factor by the end of the performance.
I would definitely recommend this show to friends and certainly not just because all performers and helpful audience members are handsomely rewarded for their efforts!
edfringe.com
*****
Mr Fizzywigg Rocks! 18 Aug 2008
reviewer: Elizabeth MacIntosh, United Kingdom
I took my young son along to see Mr Fizzywigg's Story Factory and what a great show this turned out to be. My son absolutely loved it. The scenario is that Mr Fizzywigg (played by American Comedian, Craig Ricci Shaynak) is in need of a brand new story and needs the help of his young audience or the Story Factory will be closed down forever.... Craig is certainly skilled at working with kids and cleverly crafts a story using their comments and suggestions, an assortment of musical instruments and a variety of props which spark their imaginative minds to chatter and play freely! For the parents, this is hilarious stuff to watch as Craig is an accomplished American Comedian as well! To top it all off, Mr Fizzywigg gives each Fizzywigger a Certificate of Achievement plus £1 for their first acting role!! This is without doubt a wonderful show and not to be missed.
*****
Mr Fizzywigg is pure, dead, brilliant! 09 Aug 2008
reviewer: Alex Tate (aka Alex Capone), Age 9, Glasgow, Scotland
I wasn't sure what to expect with this show. I had just been to the Dr Bunhead's show which was very good, busy and noisy and this looked to be a lot different to that. However, it was classic! You got to perform a character and story on stage with an audience and props. I was a gangster called Alex Capone and my little sister was the dour Queen Samantha of France. There was also a New York taxi driver, a cab passenger who thought the cab driver was weird, an airline pilot and a very shy pirate. However all us kids managed to save Mr Fizzywigg's Story Factory. At the end we all got certificates from Mr Fizzywigg and payment for our acting skills. Absolutely excellent!
*****
Huge Fun 06 Aug 2008
reviewer: Shaun Brown, UK
"That was wicked" Jack Brown, age 9 "Exxxxcellllent!" Annie Brown, age 5 An hour of pure inventive fun, crazily crafted by Mr Fizzywig. My kids loved helping to create the story and then take part in it. If your kids like to make up stories and use their imagination then this is the show for them.
The Herald: Saving the world by telling wee stories
CARMODY WILSON August 11 2008
Mr Fizzywigg's Story Factory is as simple as can be: take one panicked, story-less grandson of the owner of the doomed Story Factory, add a couple of kids and some costumes, and, voila!, you have a silly show, made up as it goes along, that kids will enjoy being in and parents will enjoy watching. Fizzywigg needs all the help he can get in creating a story to keep the factory open, so he enlists some rather reticent help from the kids in the audience. Once the characters have been assigned, kids forget that they're terrified and have a good time. Craig Ricci Shaynak, the man behind the masks (and hats and puppets) is a jolly and game director, and kids and parents will come out of the show feeling a little more sure of themselves.
Star rating: ***
Three Weeks
For those parents out there who feel a little guilty for plonking little ones in front of the television instead of engaging young imaginations, this show may just be the tonic required. The concept of 'Mr Fizzywigg's' is a simple one. With the help of the audience a story is created, and needless to say, such involvement cannot help but be truly compelling. The strength, however, may also be the weakness: catch a child in a grumpy mood (or simply one that doesn't enjoy hats), and it has the potential to be a story farce. However, the fact that no two shows are the same means that freshness will be maintained, and, with its sprinkling of good nature, it's sure to be better than that pesky telly.
Sweet Grassmarket, 1 - 25 Aug (not 11, 18), 11.20am (12.10pm), prices vary, fpp 16.
tw rating 3/5
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