Preview: Perfect, Wardrobe Theatre

The latest production from Bristol children’s theatre specialist Tessa Bide is an adaptation of Perfect, the children’s book by award-winning author Nicola Davies and illustrator Cathy Fisher.

Perfect is the touching story of a young boy meeting his disabled sister for the first time. Using skilled physical theatre, bound together with stunning animated projections, the play gently unpacks this challenging theme in an accessible way for audiences of 5 and up.

“Moving, gentle and thoughtful: Perfect is sophisticated and sensitive in its storytelling, exquisite in its design and, best of all, really trusts its young audience” Children’s Theatre Reviews

“Tessa ​Bide ​has ​a ​rare ​talent ​for ​accessing ​the ​inner ​vision ​of ​a ​child ​in ​such ​a ​natural ​way” Manchester’s ​Finest ​

All pics: Kirsten McTernan

Here’s Tessa to open up the world of Perfect.

Why did you want to tell this particular story?
I was approached by the book’s author Nicola Davies about adapting her story for the stage. All my other shows had been devised from scratch so this was a new way of working for me – and it’s been a fascinating process. Nicola saw one of my previous shows and felt our approach to storytelling would work well for Perfect. We’ve worked together to adapt the story and partnered with the charity SIBS to make sure we were creating a show which would audiences would enjoy, but also explore the issues in the story around disability and make the sibling relationships accessible.

What, for you, makes for a really effective piece of children’s theatre?
Three things are really important: storytelling, being playful and understanding your audience. I always invite children into my rehearsal room to watch my shows in development so I hear their feedback and perspective on the show throughout the process.
I’m an Associate Artist with May Park School in Bristol and the staff and students are great at giving me honest feedback and reactions to my shows whilst they are being made and then as finished performances. I also believe in making theatre that engages all ages – not just the children. After all, children never go to the theatre by themselves: they’re always accompanied by an adult or two, so we try to make theatre that can engage adults and children with the same material, so they can have a shared experience and go home equally inspired and excited.

“Opening up the subject of disability for young audiences” – is this quite challenging to get right (tone, balance of joy and sadness, etc)?
Absolutely. I was lucky with this project in that I was adapting the show from Nicola’s book, which was already really well received, but we also knew from the start that we needed to partner with a charity who were experts in this area and could advise on certain aspects of the production. SIBS, a specialist charity working with siblings of people with disabilities, came on board as our partner on the production. The sibling relationship is central to Perfect and so we wanted this to feel authentic.

One critic noted, “Tessa Bide has a rare talent for accessing the inner vision of a child in such a natural way.” Do you feel you have this talent?
I have no idea, but I hope so! I love making work for children and young audiences so for people to say I’ve got a talent for it is lovely. I think I never stopped playing, and being playful, and that helps me tap into the mindset of a child easier than most.

How fruitful a place is Bristol in which to make (children’s?) theatre?
I grew up in Dorset but have been based in Bristol for the last six years. This city is my artistic home – I’ve got a studio/office space at Hamilton House and have forged really brilliant partnerships with different organisations in the city who have supported my work – helping with rehearsal space, presenting work-in-progress shows, etcetera. The artistic community in Bristol is really exciting and it’s great to be based here.

Perfect is at the Wardrobe Theatre from May 31 to June 3. For more info and to book tickets, visit thewardrobetheatre.com/livetheatre/perfect