By Finegan Kruckemeyer, conceived by Andy Packer
Director: Andy Packer
Operator: Roland Partis
Designer : Wendy Todd
Lighting Design/Design Consultant: Geoff Cobham
Composer: Quentin Grant
Sound Design: Nick O’Connor
Illustrator: Andy Ellis
New Media Artist: Simone Mazengarb
New Media Consultant: Sophie Hyde
Executive Producer: Jodi Glass
Production Manager: Lisa Hill
Cast: Stephen Sheehan and Sam McMahon
Inside an enchanting travelling theatre tent, discover a storyteller who shares a timeless tale. Cheeseboy’s home planet has been reduced to a bubbling fondue. Where are his parents? How did he become marooned on earth? Gypsies have given him a home, of sorts, but Cheeseboy is tugged this way and that by tides of strange longings and stranger powers. Imagine Oedipus meeting Edward Scissorhands, over a dish of exotic curds. Stephen Sheehan is a gifted performer who seems to magically weave a tale out of thin air. This production complements his art with theatrical magic from ingeniously simple lights and mirrors to high-tech marvels. Set to lush original music by Quentin Grant, The Tragical Life of Cheeseboy transports you to a fantastic world.
In 2010, Slingsby's The Tragical Life of Cheeseboy tours to Perth, Wellington, Melbourne and more: Perth International Festival of Arts (23 February to 1 March), New Zealand International Festival of Arts (10-21 March), The Arts Centre, Melbourne (3-6 August).
Frank Scheck, NEW YORK POST
You may want to think twice before taking your children to see "The Tragical Life of Cheeseboy": This exquisitely performed piece is so enchanting, they may never be content with your simple bedtime stories again. Over 50 breathtaking minutes, it details the adventures of a young boy who goes on an intergalactic journey to find his parents after his world -- made entirely of cheese -- catches on fire and becomes fondue. The proceedings are narrated by a Victorian-era-style figure, Slingsby (Stephen Sheehan), aided by burly, silent assistant, Humph (Samuel McMahon). A third performer mans a projector that provides the visuals for the presentation, which apes the Magic Lantern shows of the 17th and 18th centuries. Relating the tale in deliciously plummy tones, the handlebar-mustached Slingsby wanders throughout his "humble playing area" while vividly describing such episodes as Cheeseboy's encounter with a group of traveling gypsies. In a clever touch, their miniature caravan is revealed within a large trunk. The seats of the Duke on 42nd Street Theater have been removed, replaced by a large white circus tent. Kids plop down on the floor near the front, while the grown-ups sit on benches behind them. With its imaginative use of tiny models, shadow effects, music, puppetry and projections, the show is visually and aurally transfixing. Best of all, it doesn't talk down to its young audience, which watched the proceedings, rapt throughout.