Clouds an Adventure into the Sky – Friday review

Last week I entered a giveaway offered by West London Mums and I got lucky and won some tickets to go and see the show Clouds at Southbank Centre.

Honestly, I didn’t know this show or heard about it so I wasn’t sure of what to expect. What I knew is that my daughter likes clouds as a theme and it sounded pretty inspirational to check it out. I went with my daughter (2 years and a half) and my nephew (9 years old) who is visiting me from Italy.

Southbank is definitely a great place to spend an afternoon with children.

There is always something to do and see so the location was surely inviting and a winning choice.

Okay here we go, the show is starting. The lights are dimming, is nearly dark but soft lights from the miniature houses on the stage are now on. People dressed in a black coat and a black hat are now entering the stage from the right and the left and they are taking away those little cute colourful houses one by one. The roof of the remaining house is about to get opened and a white fluffy cloud is coming out.

(Photography was not permitted during the show so I just took this one above before the performance started and I’ll be using images that I found on the internet.)

Once the stage was clear floating fabrics populates the scene and a big cloud made from a massive plastic bag starts to move around. A dancer from inside is creating some amazing effects and the children are staring at the stage and following the movement of the cloud. The music is amusing and giving the right rhythm.

This is the opening of this enchanting show that brings you inside another world, a surreal world that you might see in your dreams. There are shadow puppets reflecting on the screen, dresses made with white air balloons, butlers with balloon heads, clouds that turn into sheep, doors that move and hide people.

There are scenes set by colours: performers dressed in green dancing on moving tables, a green apple that is a recurring object, dancers in blue playing with ladders, a group of dancers in red that run around with flippers, black butlers, white clouds . . .  shapes and colours all around!

It is a shame the show was on only for a few days in London. I would recommend it if you have the chance to see it somewhere. It goes for about an hour, not too short, not too long and if my little daughter was entertained is a good sign! I think she got a little bit bored only when a scene was probably too long and repetitive. My nephew enjoyed especially the beginning, the butlers with balloon heads and the red people dancing with fins.

The dance company is Spanish, Aracaladanza so keep an eye if you see it around 😉

Here is the flyer.

The company took inspirations from the painter René Magritte, a great surrealist artist. Surely the children could not recognize the similarity but any adults who is into art a little bit can surely see it. Especially that green apple and those hats! I think I got myself some inspiration for my photography portraits.

Here some paintings you might know that remind the show.