by Ilina Hirschberg, IYAF Press Team In the Presence of HRH the Earl of Wessex, The English school of Mongolia began the rainbow of talent which is IYAF with an explosion of colour and fun at the Raise the Roof opening night concert. Their cute modern version of the slightly pantomimic musical Joseph and The Technicolour Dreamcoat brought a smile to my face and set the vocal standards high, achieving the acclaim of The Mayor of Kingston, who commented: “Joseph was wonderful! Ghengis Khan would be proud of them.”

The second act of the festival was vastly different to the first but just as entertaining.

Handmade Tales by Tap Tap Theatre was a small, ingenious production which made navy blue the colour of the night. The five young performers, clad in navy blue dungerees, magically transported me to a kingdom far far away, with only a violin, a cardboard crown and a daisy. The engaging wit of the show and outstanding acting left me wishing it had been a double rainbow.

The tenor changed once again with Soundscapes of South Africa performed expertly by Lindsay Fillingham. This extract, a seamless marriage of music and narrative, aptly described the stark black and yellow contrasts of South Africa in the days when Apartheid finally began fading into grey. The first dance performance of the night stayed within the realms of the recently established African theme, with Zion, an extract from the Ignition Dance Festival. This mini showcase of contemporary dance easily could have been beige, however, instead was intense and daring, a bright white divergence of stillness and gravity.

Then it was the turn of theatre group Smile Darkly to contribute to the diversifying rainbow. Smile Darkly’s extract from their show Snow White: The Whole Grimm Affair was as contrasting as their name. It crashed from neon pink naivety and slapstick, to the deep black message that all man desires is money. Although a bit rough around the edges, it was an accessible and fun piece of theatre, with admirable depths. HRH the Earl of Wessex commented that it seemed: “difficult to describe”.

This was followed by the second foreign group of the evening: Nya Paraplyteatern.

The Swedish company dragged me back in time to one of the darkest and most terrifying times in the history of mankind: the witch hunts of 1675 and yet, just as I was preparing to hide under my seat, the performers hurtled onto the stage in a whirlwind of colour, and proceeded to shock and wow with two vivid and fun loving musical numbers from their pagan show Witch Secrets, which made even the Mayor laugh.

The next piece was once again vastly different to its forerunner. Strung Out by Maisie Whitehead was a bright yellow and amazingly skilful aerial piece which whisked me back to childhood. The National Youth Music Theatre then finished the first act with a black and red flash of their adaptation of The Ragged Child. The young performers performed with military precision causing me to rethink my prediction that they wouldn’t be able to outdo last year’s thought provoking and emotional rendition of Whistle Down the Wind.

The second act began on an amusing note, as Aniela Zaba, Artistic Director of Creative Youth gave a brief and hilarious introduction. However, the cast of Grim kept their faces bleak and unreadable, already shrouded in cloaks at the back of the stage, ready to burst forth and into song. Untold Theatre effortlessly matched the National Youth Music Theatre’s high vocal standards, during this extract of their grim new musical. Next, And On Theatre – a ‘Best of the Fest’ 2013 company – were back with their new production Game. Narrated in rhyme, this tale of two friends was utterly adorable, although undertones of danger were never far away… This was followed by the second Ariel circus act of the evening, Moonfall by Hikapee. This silver circus parody stunned me into silence with a mix of tasteful slapstick and incredible aerial skill.

Then it was time for vocal rather than physical acrobatics, with the pick of Word Up!, IYAF’s spoken word and poetry nights. Sophia Thakur made my heart ache with joy, pain and comprehension through her beautiful piece of spoken word ‘Letter to My Unborn Child’. The young woman’s voice ebbed and flowed, drawing me in, until I keenly felt her warm pink emotion, tinged with gritty undertones of red.

The penultimate act, was a celebration of Mongolian folk dance by Mongolika. The glowing golden music brought rays of sunshine into the dark auditorium and filled every fibre of my being with the desire to dance, until I had to hold onto my seat to prevent myself leaping up to join the flamboyantly dressed performers.

The last performance was supposed to come from jazz group Tankus the Henge but unfortunately all but one member of the band had to pull out at the last minute. Seemingly unfazed by these abrupt turn of events, the lead singer Jaz Delorean took to the stage to perform a set off the cuff and alone. The hyperactive young man began his performance with a highly amusing ‘we’re not ready yet’ dance as the volunteers hurried to adjust the stage to his needs. He then proceeded to capture the imagination of the audience, with the most diverse jazz performance I have ever seen – and I have seen a great deal of jazz in my time! Somehow he managed to sing, play the piano, narrate and tap dance all at the same time.

First he drew us in with a growly rendition of On The Sunny Side Of The Street, then eased into two of his own hilarious narrative tunes, one concerning a Russian gymnast and the king of the gypsies, called All I Do is Talk About The Weather, which I have been singing ever since. At the end of his set, the audience screamed for an encore, which he gladly provided, finishing off the introduction to IYAF 2014 with a cascade of musical fireworks, which filled me with excitement about the many colourful explosions to come Link to original article: http://iyafestival.org.uk/2014/07/12/a-night-fit-for-royalty/ Based on information supplied by IYAF Press Team.