The little puppet with the long wooden nose is getting into mischief again this Easter at the 20th MTN Nelson Mandela Bay Splash Festival in Port Elizabeth.
Pinocchio’s Easter Escapades will delight young and old from April 2 to 5 at Hobie Beach as the sweet-but-silly puppet comes to life on the MTN Stage everyday for an hour-long show starting at 10.30am.
“The public can buckle up for adventure galore as everyone’s favourite puppet with all his favourite friends – and enemies – make their way onto stage,” says play director Marléne Pieterse of Stageworld Theatre School in PE.
According to Pieterse, this adaptation of Pinocchio by David Fick, the well-known children’s creator of musical plays, is what children’s theatre is al about – lots of fun and lots of laughter. “It’s something that old and young children can identify with.”
Pinocchio first appeared as a fictional character in 1883 in The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi, and has since been seen in many adaptations.
Carved from a piece of pine by a woodcarver named Geppetto in a small Italian village, he was created as a wooden puppet that dreamt of becoming a real boy.
Still in pursuit of adventure, Pinocchio’s curiosity leads him into several sticky situations this Easter. Festival goers are introduced to the mischievous Lampwick, best friend of Pinocchio, who lures him into every prank and scheme imaginable.
Meanwhile, longing for a little boy of his own, the lovable Geppetto is hired by Snowy the Easter Bunny to deliver Easter eggs to all the children around the world. Among the delightful cast is Almost Snowy, who lends Geppetto a hand with this mammoth task.
Although Geppetto is able to move like lightning with his winged pair of Mercury brand shoes, he has to deal with the sly twosome, burglars Gatto the cat and Volpe the fox, who plot to steal the eggs. But they don’t get very far as clever policeman Captain Carab curbs their exploits.
Pinocchio’s Easter Escapades will entice a wide spectrum of audiences with lots of adventure and songs and through the theatrical magic from the energetic local cast they will discover that Pinocchio is indeed no ordinary puppet.
The play is choreographed by Donna McLaggan and Garth Tavares is the musical director.
This year’s Splash Festival features beach sports, international watersports events, activities for kids, live entertainment, more than 150 stalls and a lifestyle marquee.
For more information, contact the festival office on 041 393 4844 or visit www.splashfestival.com.
Issued by:
Full Stop Communications
Coetzee Gouws
041 368 4992
082 575 7991
coetzee@fullstopcom.com
www.fullstopcom.com
On behalf of:
MTN Nelson Mandela Bay Splash Festival