Preview: The Time Seekers, Wardrobe Theatre

Have you ever dreamed of seeing a dinosaur? Meeting a Roman or an Ancient Egyptian? Sharing tea time with a robot from the future?

The Time Seekers is the thrilling new theatrical journey for audiences ages 3 and above from Bristol’s Wardrobe Ensemble, where audiences take the steering wheel for a journey through time.

Made on a budget of just £250, the Ensemble’s previous family show, the cosmos-exploring The Star Seekers went to Edinburgh Fringe last summer and is now transferring to the National Theatre in August.

Follow-up The Time Seekers follows the further adventures of Alph, Betty and Gammo. Expect dinosaurs made out of doughnuts, a talking pyramid, and a whistle-stop tour of the Cambrian explosion, as the Seekers explore the people and places of our past and future with songs, humour and lots of audience interaction.

“A uniquely collaborative adventure in which many of the story’s twists and turns are supplied by the audience members and improvised, with impressive creativity and quicksilver pace… get pulled into the irresistible gravitational field of this beautifully wide-eyed, enthusiastic and good-humoured show”– B24/7 on The Star Seekers.

Here are the trio to tell us more.

What are the key features of a Wardrobe Ensemble kids’ show? How have you made them so engaging for audiences young and old?
When making shows for kids, what lies at the heart of what we create is the experience for the audience – young and old. Our shows have a large interactive element to them in order to immerse the audience in the adventure – be it through space, the sea, or time.
With this comes a lot of improvisation in order to incorporate ideas from the audience e.g. what’s special about this dinosaur? how do you think people will travel in the future? Other key features include songs, dance, silliness, peril, emotions, and complex concepts in easy to digest chunks and language.
The true engagement of the audience comes with the shared experience – the journey we are all on together for 50 minutes. We think everyone has the ability to connect with their inner five-year-old (we certainly do anyway!) so if we find something funny in the rehearsal room, it generally makes it into the show!

How much of the script is nailed down, and how much relies on audience suggestions on the day?
Areas of the script are less structured, allowing for improvisation. There’s a fine balance between tight dialogue and concise storytelling, and then running with whatever the audience throw at us – so it’s always useful to know which mode you are in to keep the drive of the show going!

Give us a time in history you’d each like to revisit.
Ben (Alph): I’d like to go visit the Mesozoic Era to meet all the coolest dinosaurs – Iguanodon, Megalosaurus, Pterodactyl…
Jesse (Betty): I would like to hang out in the back of Cleopatra’s chariot and be fed grapes and wine between battles.
Helena (Gammo): I’d go back to when Romeo and Juliet was first staged at The Globe and watch the show with the groundlings.
We’re excited about the future too! Setting up a colony on Mars, medical advances to the point where people live to be thousands of years old, and all the future inventions that haven’t been invented yet!

The Time Seekers Tuesday, April 3-Sunday, April 8, Wardrobe Theatre. For more info and to book tickets, visit thewardrobetheatre.com/livetheatre/the-time-seekers

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