The Lighthouse Keeper's Lunch
By Ronda & David Armitage
Adapted for the stage by Tina Williams & Nicola Sangster
Mr Grinling, the lighthouse keeper, tends his light come rain or shine. Every day, Mrs Grinling makes him a delicious lunch and sends it across the sea to the lighthouse. However, Mr Grinling isn’t the only one who enjoys the tasty food. Some greedy seagulls keep stealing his lunch! Can Mrs Grinling come up with an ingenious plan to ensure the lighthouse keeper gets his lunch? Join Mr and Mrs Grinling and Hamish the cat for an exciting visual delight, accompanied by live music, inspired by the much-loved children’s story.
This charming show is ideal for children aged 3 - 8 and great fun for all the family!
Click Here to see pictures from the show
Click Here to read a review of the show (scroll down)
The Lighthouse Keeper's Lunch was performed at The Henley Rugby Club, Monday 19th - Saturday 24th July 2010 at 1:30pm and 4:00pm
Review of The Lighthouse Keeper's Lunch from The Toddler Review -
Every year The Henley Fringe Festival brings a whole host of great theatre to the fancy pants Oxfordshire town which gave us posh stuff like Boris Johnson and regattas. There’s all sorts of grown up shows including comedy, drama and satire from emerging theatre companies, most working on very limited budgets. But grown up theatre is of no interest to us - it’s long and has difficult words in it.
So instead we got ourselves an invite to the Henley Rugby Club to watch a performance of FalconGrange Production’s adaptation of Ronda and David Armitage’s The Lighthouse Keeper’s Lunch.
A two man show starring Daniel Creasey as Mr Grinling and Yvie Magee as his wife (supported by violinist Carole Carpenter and a host of fantastic puppets), The Lighthouse Keeper’s Lunch follows the story of an always hungry Lighthouse Keeper and his wife’s attempts to stop seagulls from eating his lunch. The lunch, it should be noted, is sent via a line stretching from home to lighthouse, tempting seagulls with its airborne yumminess. Why Mr Grinling can’t take a lunchbox in the morning like a normal person we don’t know and neither do the kids seem to care.
With cushions and mats spread across the floor, kids are invited to get up close and personal with the performance, lazing on the same level as the actors as the performance takes place. While some of the audience merrily rolled and raced around the room others - Lil and Ted included - sat entranced by the story and the enthusiasm of the actors who really embraced their roles and kept up a level of energy which caused Mummy to feel slightly out of breath by the end even though she’d done little else other than sit quietly with a cup of coffee.
At little more than half an hour the show was the ideal length for small children - though advertised as being suitable for ages 3-8 much younger kids in the audience seemed to enjoy it with Ted (who never sits still) even managing to maintain interest - and both Magee and Creasey, veterans of the children’s theatre circuit, connected with their mini audience in a way which suggests that perhaps they haven’t yet forgotten what it’s like to be kids themselves. Can we keep them in our understairs cupboard to be brought out on difficult parenting days? Please?
Cast -
Mrs Grinling - Yvie Magee
Mr Grinling - Daniel Creasey
Directed by Tina Williams
Musical Direction by Carole Carpenter
In association with -
