At a time when most of us can only dream of sailing away, Faceplant Theatre are back with their award-winning 2018 family show, One Duck Down – a seafaring adventure of epic proportions, you can watch safely from the comfort of your own home.
In a true story that amused the world, changed scientist’s understanding of ocean currents forever, and even made it onto David Attenborough’s Blue Planet II, thousands of rubber ducks were accidentally released from a container ship in 1992. In reality, oceanographers are still finding them but, in our story, unlikely hero Billy of Pebbleton, England (Played and co-written by Owen Jenkins) sets out on a mission to round up 7,000 of them and win the heart of local sourpuss, Cecilia.
Billy might be seeking rubber ducks, but he finds much more. He comes across a duck caught in plastic netting alongside “strong independent gulls” Stella and Stacey, there’s a duck inside a whale – the poor short-sighted creature mistook the duck for a fish. and there are even ducks frozen into the polar ice caps, where he enlists the help of a rockin’ polar bear in his mission.
With catchy songs, puns, puppets, pirates (in training) and costumes creatively made from literal rubbish (Look out for the vintage crisp packet patches on Scuzzy the Polar Bear’s bomber jacket), with One Duck Down Faceplant Theatre have deftly woven key ecological messages into an energetic and endearing pro-duck-tion. It may be a serious message for little ears, but they’ve made tidying up the world’s oceans look like enormous fun!
If you love a sea-shanty and a dose of positivity, it is easy to let yourself be swept up on Billy’s adventure – whatever your age. I can’t imagine ever having more fun in a bathtub!
One Duck Down is e-sea-ntial viewing for our future little eco-warriors (and adults alike), who need to be reminded in this current climate that the world is bigger than their bubbles.
Full details of The Dazed New World Festival can be found here
