Assemble with your fellow students and journey to the most unusual of universities, where the mysterious Professor Bamberg will send you off on a self-navigated quest where nothing is quite as it seems.
You will interact with the liveliest of lecturers, choose your subjects of study, enter themed rooms and encounter all kinds of problems and puzzles, unlocking your magical powers as you go.
Last night Cahoots NI welcomed us to a preview of The University of Wonder & Imagination! my first true live theatre event since the theatres closed down and to say they have adapted and produced a show to be proud of with this one is an understatement.
The general premise is that we’re a visiting class to the university and we’re going through their rooms and visiting their professors who teach us about wonder and imagination. My two boys (5 & 6 years old) came along with me and they danced, sung, gasped and interacted over the hour in a show that has to be seen to be believed.
Whilst doing this show through zoom obviously presents its challenges, it also has advantages too. It can be more personal, kids can be more comfortable in their own home (you can also mute them if they’re being too loud!), the cast can call everyone out by name and interact in a fair way that makes the kids feel a part of the show. The shows are limited to 6 families at a time so you truly are getting an intimate experience which is such an important part of traditional theatre.
I have to say seeing your own face on zoom when you log in to see a show is a little weird but you quickly get over it! The show itself is very slick too with computer graphics and effects that give it a real polish and professionalism that I really wasn’t expecting.
My boy’s favourite things are numbers and planets and suffice to say the mathemagician and the ‘secrets of space’ lessons had them both in their element. They’re also learning, but shhhhhh they don’t know that!
Cahoots NI has produced a show to be proud of and one that I would recommend in a heartbeat, this isn’t a show that’s been made in spite of limitations, this is a show that embraces the opportunity to do things completely different but with the same love, care and dedication that they’ve always done.
The University of Wonder & Imagination runs at Belfast International Arts Festival from the 22nd – 25th October and the 29th October – 1st November, and they’d love you to join them! Tickets and more information can be found HERE.
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