The Tale of the Loneliest Whale is a family show from Hoglets Theatre. It’s sweet, with moments of real engagement, but lacks enough magical moments to lift it beyond the usual children’s entertainment.
The lonely whale goes hunting for a song that will harmonise with theirs and meets other sea creatures along the way, who sing their own songs. Gemma Sharp is an engaging performer but wears a mic, making their voice sound harsh and too loud. It was performed in a small room to a small audience, so I couldn’t understand the need for a mic when their natural voice could have been heard, even above the soundscape. When Gemma was acting excited and suddenly exclaiming, the sound levels felt jarring—a small child near me looked anxious throughout.
Original songs are by Andy Curry, but with amplified singing over a backing track, they sounded wobbly and out of tune at times, rather than gentle and melodic. However, there was a lovely musical moment when the audience, split into sections, sang phrases or made the whoosh of the ocean whilst some of the kids waved jellyfish puppets. If only there could have been more of this.
The puppets in The Tale of the Loneliest Whale were made from recycled materials, and there was a gorgeous turtle made out of a hubcap, but most of the puppets were underwhelming and a little too small. The lonely whale was a lovely shape and moved well but just didn’t feel big enough for the space. Conversely, the Moray eel was enormous—a strip of dyed material hanging off a long pole which moved into the audience and produced gasps. More of that style could have enhanced the atmosphere.
The performer, Gemma, was energetic and smiling, bouncing around the stage and all faces turned towards them; however, this tailed off early on. There was limited direct interaction, like going into the audience—perhaps the traditional seating arrangement wasn’t ideal for a children’s show. When the audience did get to join in with a song, or hold a puppet and say some of the lines, then interest was regained, but it needed to happen more frequently.
There were lots of complex words and sentences, and they seemed to be pitched a little too high for a young audience. Fewer words, more repetition, and more space given between thoughts might have been more effective.
The audience seemed to really enjoy The Tale of the Loneliest Whale, but for me, there were too many missed opportunities which could have elevated it further into the realm of magic and wonder.
