Walking The Tightrope, the most recent production by British playwright Mike Kenny, is ambitious children’s theatre. The story follows a young girl, Esme, who visits her grandfather soon after her grandmother has died. At a loss to explain why Nana Queenie won’t be joining them this year, Grandad Stan tells Esme that Queenie has gone to join the circus. The lie becomes gradually more elaborate, until the real circus comes to town and forces him to reveal the truth.
The play walks its own tightrope between being lighthearted and energetic enough to keep the kids interested, and giving its subject matter the emotional weight it requires. Employing a popular device in children’s entertainment, the actors double as storytellers and keep things moving by narrating their actions. Repetition also keeps us tuned in to the central theme — that change is inevitable and part of life — which emerges as the take-home message for younger audiences.
