Literary characters leap to life in KidsFest extravaganza

Every single night, books come to life through the imagination of the children reading them, whether they’re classic nursery rhymes, picture books or novels. But, for a season every year, Hong Kong’s youth also get a chance to see their favourite heroes and villains spring from the printed page and act out their adventures on stage.

Now taking place for the sixth consecutive year, KidsFest 2017 will be running at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts until February 12.

Among the shows lifted from much-loved literature are Stick Man, The Snail and the Whale, Shark in the Park, The First Hippo on the Moon, The Way Back Home, Why the Whales Came, Awful Egyptians (Horrible Histories), and The Best of Barmy Britain.

Two productions certain to grab the spotlight include Gruffalos, Ladybirds and other Beasts - which features best-selling author Julia Donaldson in the cast - and Romeo and Juliet Untold, which puts a few new twists into Shakespeare’s classic tale of star-crossed lovers.

Donaldson, whose numerous other world-famous works include Stick Man and The Snail and the Whale, sees the path from page to play as very much a two-way street. She believes shows such as hers help to foster an interest and love of literature and language in their young audiences.

“I think it is because books speak more to their imagination,” she explains. “There is nothing more enjoyable for a child than having their parents’ attention, sitting on their knees at bedtime, cuddling up in bed with a book, or hearing their parents put on the characters’ voices. You can’t get that from an app or computer game.”