By Ilana Hirschberg, IYAF Press Team Handmade Tales by Tap Tap Theatre ‘A story is a very peculiar thing.’ And with that, the whirlwind of an adventure began. Tap Tap theatre careered through their introduction and launched into the first of five narratives at a ferociously engaging speed. There was no time to prepare and barely enough time to grab hold of your hat.

At the start of their performance, the five young prformers claimed: ‘All we need, to tell these stories is your imagination.’ However, it was the jaw-dropping imagination and acting ability of the performers themselves which made the show. Each member of the small cast expertly portrayed an eclectic selection of characters, from cleaners and squabbling siblings, to princes and dragons. Tap Tap Theatre’s mini fables carried me away on a journey which spanned schools and parallel universes, shopping centres and the magical world of dreams.

The show was engaging and family friendly, with jokes for adults and children alike. At times I laughed so much I couldn’t even take notes! Though there were elements of comedy slipped into each carefully handcrafted tale, the stories grew both in intensity and depth of meaning, from the simple and frothy ‘Tale of the Prince’ to the emotional and touching ‘Tale of Grandma Edie’.

All this was achieved with only a couple of props. But props were rarely needed, because the actors and actresses did brilliantly just using their own bodies. The cast flowed seamlessly around the stage, barely pausing for breath during the hour long performance, demonstrating incredible stamina and a complete lack of the self-consciousness so often evident in the body language of fringe performers. However, what raised the show to another level was the excellent live violin accompaniment. The music oscillated, carrying the performance along on the back of the violin melody, the tune complementing the actors’ voices and giving an edge to the individual tone of each fable.

Quick-witted Grandma Edie’s favourite phrase was ‘words are wonderful when used wisely,’ and Tap Tap Theatre followed her advice to a t, almost until the end. By this time, each mini story had concluded and it was the perfect time to slide the show to a halt and leave the audience begging for more. However, the final few minutes of story really weren’t necessary or nearly as engaging as the previous three quarters of an hour, but as the cast said at the start of the show: ‘The thing is about a story, it simply has to be told!’ Based on information supplied by IYAF Press Team.