We had accomplished Jah’s first Disney on Ice as well as first movie in the cinema this year and today we made it through Jah’s first play at the theaters with us. While it wasn’t Jah’s first time watching a play because his childcare has brought him on a few occasions, it was his first with us. I always believe that kids behave a little differently in school and sometimes abide by different rules/ standards therefore I consider this experience with him, a milestone.

I have been wanting to bring Jah to a play for sometime but it was always either a timing issue or I wasn’t certain about the content/ story. I was very excited when I heard that The Very Hungry Caterpillar was coming to town since this was a story that he was very familiar with! I mean we memorized the entire book, hows that for familiar.

Jah declaring that he wants to go watch these shows next..my boy the bookworm and theater buff!

We arrived at the National Library (Drama Centre) almost an hour before the show. This was our first time there so it was a pleasant surprise to find that parking was so easy and cheap. On top of that, there was a Hans restaurant located downstairs for us to spend some time and it had a spacious area for kids to roam/ run/ walk around if they got restless or bored.

Jah excitedly waiting for his breakfast before the show

Mummy was equally excited! We love plays!

We headed up to the third floor where the drama centre was, just 15 minutes before the show started. It gave us sometime to take a photo against the Hungry Caterpillar backdrop, grab a booster seat and head to our seats.
The show was a non-shushing show which meant that kids were allowed to talk, answer or recite the lines and no one was going to shush them. How fun! Although I had to make sure to explain this to Jah before the show in case he started to think that this was acceptable behaviour for all shows!

The Very Hungry Caterpillar!

The show started with two other stories, The Cloud as well as the Mixed up chameleon. While Jah was impatient and kept asking about the Hungry Caterpillar, I was glad that they organized it in that order. Saving the best for last meant that the kids were still very interested after 30 minutes of puppetry. Oh yes did I mention that the story telling was done with puppets? Well not your traditional puppets but with hand held props mainly. On hindsight I’m not sure if this was the best format for us to attempt a first play viewing. Perhaps a play with characters in costume, music and dance might have been better but Jah enjoyed it sufficiently and it really helped that we could talk him through each ‘act’.

A wefie before the show

The clincher for us adults and what made the play extra special for Jah, was the fact that we were very fortunate to be invited for a backstage tour after the show. This was also what allowed him to ‘digest’ and understand the play, props and characters better and complete the experience.

We were told how the crew handled the props and learnt of the teamwork involved. The kids were allowed to come upclose to the ‘characters’ and even touch them and finally a photo of us with the crew and the characters. How precious!

A special backstage tour picture with the crew and characters!

We caught the last show date in Singapore and the show is heading to Shanghai next so for those who missed it, we hope they come back again next year. 🙂

Overall it was the perfect experience for us and I can’t wait to bring Jah and hopefully Bella (soon) for more plays!

We love theatre!

JahBella’s Mummy