h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I got to see both performances of 'Bugsy Malone'. The first night, little was playing some small characters and on the second, the larger part of the main baddy, 'Dandy Dan'.

The first night was on balance rather better. The child playing Bugsy Malone was absolutely superb, the other main characters were good, with the 'Fat Sam' being excellent. Little performed his parts well on both nights.

On the second night, the Bugsy wasn't so strong and there was a long break after he forgot one of his entrances, although the other main characters were generally good. Little was very good - confident, big voice, big gestures - and he looked good - except for fiddling with his trousers. They were a bit big, and I had put a safety pin in the back. The school changed it, and I think they left it a bit loose, so he was worried that they were going to fall down.

I sat there (with AR1 at my side) entranced. I would have paid to see it whether or not little was in it or not. Both nights got standing ovations and the headteacher really recognised the dedication of his staff and the parents who had put such a lot into the production.

After the second performance, little said he felt really sad. He really wanted to go on rehearsing and performing and I think it was rather an anti-climax.

No-one was allowed to take photos or a video because of copyright restrictions. Shame.

At the moment, he's come back from his school Christmas party and is throwing up in a bowl because of the amount of party food he's eaten/drunk. Oh well!

What a delightful end to that entry He's preparing you for the days to come when he'll be getting home drunk

The play sounds great... what a wee . And how proud you must have felt. Did you cry?

I always cry buckets at things like that. Especially if there's singing. As ZSF says, if they're good, you even try and get to see them when your child's not at the school any longer.

for little

Hello Fb - yes it did occur to me that this might be a hint for the future - I do hope not! Yes, I was proud of him, although I spent a fair amount of time being apprehensive in case he forgot his lines. In fact, he did forget once, but recovered on his own, and it was only a slight hesitation. One of the really nice things about the play was that the other children mouthed the words for people who looked as if they might forget. Someone sitting a bit closer than I was told me that. Did I cry? No. I did laugh a bit, though, when he was pulling at his trousers. I mentioned it to one of the teachers in the interval, but no-one adjusted his safety pin to make them tighter.

Hello TC! Oh yes, the singing *was* good - and some of these songs are really difficult. The songs in last year's production (Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat) were *much* easier. Several of the children had solos and they were all word perfect and (mostly) on-key. The little girl who played Blousey on the second day had a particularly strong and mature voice and when she sang, she relaxed much more than when she was acting.