Dance review
Playful ballet Tiger Tale unlocks the inner child in adults, entrances kids
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Tiger Tale begins with a family locked in routine, before being liberated by playfulness.
PHOTO: ALVIN HO
Melissa Quek
Tiger Tale
Barrowland Ballet
Esplanade Theatre Studio
March 13, 5pm
Banging buckets. Rolling fruit. Webs of rope to hang on or jump through. Barrowland Ballet’s Tiger Tale has all the ingredients for playful family time that will draw out your inner child and entertain children. Certainly, the young ones in the audience are entranced from the start, puzzling over the identity of the three bucket-headed people on stage, Mum, Dad and Child.
The Child tries to be a tiger. Soot-drawn whiskers on her face, she lunges with hands curled into claws but she is soon caught, wiped down and disciplined into prim properness.
The family dance as a well-rehearsed trio with repetitive linear movements that reveal the monotony of their daily routine. Morning after morning, Mum and Dad follow the same patterns, maintaining their distance, until an accidental touch becomes an uncomfortable pause broken by an awkwardly uttered “sorry” that becomes more strained each time.
The lights change. Mum and Dad lean comfortably into each other, taking turns to carry and be carried as Mum’s giggles become a musical accompaniment. This is only an interlude, a glimpse into what the Child wishes her parents could be.
The grey atmosphere does not last long. Vince Virr, earlier playing Dad, returns as a very mischievous Tiger in a bright orange suit and stripes across his face. The air fills with the scent of oranges, as he crawls over the seats and through the audience, and rifles through bags.
He teases the other dancers with oranges and pine cones, tossing and rolling the oranges across the space. The audience responds to his cheeky advances, joining in the fun, reaching for the oranges he offers or growling back at him.
His entrance has unlocked something in the atmosphere. Laughter echoes, as the audience give in to the ageless desire for fun.
The Dad in Tiger Tale starts off distant, then returns to the stage as a mischievous Tiger who teases the audience.
PHOTO: ALVIN HO
Though the performance premiered more than 10 years ago, its themes still strike a chord today. Choreographer Natasha Gilmore and writer-director Robert Alan Evans originally created Tiger for an older audience, so the dance appeals even to adults. They then developed it into Tiger Tale for young audiences, and further adapted it for neurodivergent audiences with Playful Tiger.
Soon, Tiger’s presence disrupts Mum’s humdrum routine. Just like the audience, she learns to let go of her rigid obsessions and be free. Her movements become more expansive when her body curves and arcs as she leaps and rolls.
When the tiger leaves and Dad returns, the morning routine has changed. Gone are the rigid lines as the trio play contentedly together, a fulfillment of the Child’s wish.
The fun does not end with the dancers’ bow. “Everybody in,” says Virr, inviting all to play with whatever they find in the space. As adults delightedly toss balls around, it is clear that Tiger Tale has released the playful creatures hidden within the audience.
