Review: Kaleidescope and Mud Island ◆
Awesome Festival, 4 October ◆
Review by Veronica Bromilow ◆

Reviews by Veronica Bromilow, aged ten.

The show was about a boy, Ethan, who has Asperger’s.  Ethan loves being different.  There were five other kids in the show who did not have Asperger’s.  The show was mainly circus tricks like trapeze, silks and hoop games.  The kids were surprisingly good at it.  

My favourite kid was Ethan because he was quiet and funny.  Sometimes he went to talk to this lady on the phone – he would talk about Asperger’s and how he liked being different.  Sometimes it was hard to hear him but otherwise it was a good show.  

My favourite bit of the show was the start when they were all waking up and getting ready for the day.  I liked that part because it was buzzing with action!  Another favourite part was when Ethan was on a bike and all the other five kids were chasing after him and couldn’t catch him.  I liked that bit because it reminded me of a action-comedy-country movie.  I imagined him on a horse!  I also liked the big huge pillow fight they had at the end of the show because feathers were flying all around and it looked like it was snowing and I like snow.  It looked like fun to Ethan.  

I didn’t think Asperger’s kids liked having Asperger’s so that was interesting.      

Rating: 8/10

Kaleidoscope is on as part of the Awesome Festival and runs until October 8th.

Tickets available here.

Photo: Awesome Festival.

Review: Mud Island◆
Awesome Festival, 4 October ◆
Review by Veronica Bromilow ◆

Mud Island was really fun because you got to play with clay and use your hands and I find hands-on games fun! I think it would be good for fidgety people to do it because it helps you relax.

The owners of the company got plastic containers and then they put a sort of material over them.  They covered parts of the material with random shaped clumps of mustard coloured clay.  They were quite big clumps.  Then they got the kids to come in and add onto those shapes with different parts of clay, creating castles and other mud castles.

Once in a while (like every ten minutes) the owners of the company came in and just sort of ruined the clay work.  I actually liked it when they did that because it was exciting!  The first time they came in they were wind so they moved pieces from clay islands and put them on other clay islands.  The second time they came they were rain.  I liked it when they were rain because it helped you smoothen out the clay.  They got sponges, wet them and squeezed them over all the islands.  Some of the people got wet so make sure you wear appropriate clothing!  The third time they came they were sort of bird-like things and they went around snipping clay with their beak tongs.  Some of the other kids got up and said to the owners – hey, give that back!  The birds of course didn’t so they just went along with it.  No-one got upset.  The fourth time they came around they were sort of bug thingys…they went to your buildings, they dug a little hole and then they dropped these sort of worms and cubes and spheres onto your building.  That sort of helped you because it was giving you extra clay.

We wore aprons so we didn’t get too dirty but you should probably not wear new pants or anything new because you will be kneeling on the clay, mustard-coloured floor so really, just don’t.  The ages I would recommend for this exciting process is four years and up because three year olds and toddlers might eat the clay and it would just come out wrong.

Rating:    9/10

Mud Island is on as part of the Awesome Festival and runs until October 8th.

Tickets available here.

Photo: Varnya Bromilow.