Past Productions

Here are a few successful productions Konflux have staged in the past...

Stone Soup

In this retelling of an ancient fable, the wise Sophia enters a starving village and promises she will feed everyone with her magical stone soup. She asks Makomo to follow the Star and persuade Mr and Mrs North to give up their monopoly of the giant cooking pot. The North's eventually agree and soon the giant cooking pot begins to boil and bubble.

The hungry villagers gather round, but when Sophia asks them each to contribute a stone to help her make the soup, they think she is mad. But the children gladly oblige, and - as if by magic - the soup beings to acquire a delicious taste and smell.

While the soup bubbles, Sophia tells stories of peace and justice as everyone eagerly anticipates the promised feast But just as the soup is about to be shared, events take a sudden turn with the arrival of the fearsome General Mayhem and Major Hazard.

Can the villagers unite to save their soup and their future? Or will Sophia's hopes for a better world be lost in greed and division?

"One world, one people, one pot!"

Stone Soup is an ancient folk tale told across many traditions and cultures which celebrate our need for sharing and community. In this exciting promenade performance for Key Stage 2 children, Konflux Theatre in Education presents the tale as a modern allegory, using its themes as a stimulus for Philosophy for Children sessions which can be transferred to the classroom.

• 50 minute promenade performance
• Philosophy for Children INSET sessions and teacher resource
• Suitable for children aged 7 - 12 years old

What on Earth?!

What on Earth?! is an interactive, multimedia performance for Key Stage 1 & 2 children which looks at recycling and energy saving. What on Earth?! covers National Curriculum work in Science, Geography and Citizenship and was commissioned to tie in with the Eco Schools Programme.

In the middle of the Milky Way there is a beautiful little blue planet almost bursting with rubbish. It's getting so bad that even the neighbours are beginning to complain. Unless our hero, Colin, can make the humans stop and think about the harm they're causing the planet then the whole place will be demolished to make way for a new UFO car park. The clock is ticking - there's not a moment to be lost.

As Colin embarks on his most ambitious mission yet to get the little blue planet back on track and fast, he meets a host of colourful characters ranging from Aliens to a rapping Fox and his ever-hungry posse of street rats - the So Furry Crew - who teach him about the need for recycling and the problems of littering their beautiful planet. The Adults are hopeless it seems, but the children on the other hand…well, there could just be a tiny glimmer of hope after all.

Using a blend of puppetry, digital projection, music and lots of audience participation, Konflux Theatre explores a broad range of ecological and environmental issues.

This imaginative and thought-provoking show for 4 - 11 year olds deals with themes of bio-diversity, rural and urban concerns, sustainable waste management and development issues. What on Earth?! is an exciting and fun way to look at many of the concerns faced by young people today.

What on Earth?! covers the following areas of the National Curriculum -

• Science (Sc 1 Scientific Enquiry / Sc 3 Materials & their Properties / Sc2 Life Processes & Living Things)
• PSHCE
• Geography (Recycling, 5a, 5b)

A Teacher Resource Pack with worksheets and activities at Key Stage 1 and 2 is available to support the themes in the production.

What on Earth?! has also been used by several hundred schools across the United Kingdom to launch recycling initiatives and support work in Eco Schools.

You can also download a PDF of the What on Earth?! brochure.

Testimonials

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Rare Earth

Set on the plains of North America in the mid 19th century, Rare Earth contrasts two opposing ways of making a living from the earth beneath us.

The American Indians lived for centuries on the plains and in the mountains, in partnership with the environment and the animals it supported, taking only that which they needed to live and utilising everything they took to the full. Their life-style is contrasted with that of the white man who arrived and drove them off their lands.

The Native American's primitive existence is shattered by the arrival of Mum, Dad and Albert, the Ramsbottom family from Lancashire, England, hell-bent on creating a new land full of great opportunity.

Through the application of technology, determination and hard work, and after many setbacks, they eventually succeed, realising their dream of building Ramsbottom Super City - but at what cost?

Hilariously comic and deadly serious by turns, Rare Earth challenges assumptions and poses questions about the relationship of man to his environment. How should we live? Is the Earth there for us to exploit, or have we a greater responsibility? Should we look after number one or is the whole of mankind and its future our real family?

Rare Earth is suitable for KS2 children and toured to schools across the United Kingdom in 2003.

Norah's Ark

Originally commissioned by the Natural History Museum, Norah's Ark is a play with songs for 5 - 11 year olds that looks at the way human activities affect animals and the environment.

Norah has a lot to contend with. For a start, her exam results are due and she fears the worst. Then there's her boyfriend Norman, who just wants to be a pop star. But, to top it all, she learns she has been specially selected to save the world's animals. It isn't easy - especially when you're scared of spiders.

Norah battles against authority and prejudice to build an exact replica of the original Noah's Ark. But when the animals are eventually on board, she discovers the hundreds of empty spaces originally filled with species now extinct. There is no time to lose, they must make a new start before any more disappear. So they are off - to a surprising destination.

Norah's Ark toured to schools across England and Northern Ireland in 1999, 2000 and 2002.

The Selfish Shellfish

Set in a rock pool, David Wood's delightful musical play deals with the serious issue of oil pollution from the point of view of five shellfish. The fight of Urchin, Mussel, Starfish, Seagull and Shellfish himself is told against the backdrop of the collision of two ships at sea and the audience are encouraged to participate in the battles with Sludge and The Great Slick.

"Dear Konflux Theatre,

My name is Rebecca Jane Crombie. I am 8 years old. I have been thinking a lot about the Selfish Shellfish every night and writing stories about it! I'm in P5 now and it's great fun! Thank you for inviting us to the play - I enjoyed it because you put so much detail into it and as soon as you click your fingers, it's real!

Konflux Theatre in Education toured The Selfish Shellfish to schools in 1997 and 1998.

Gulp!

An hour long play for Key Stage 1 & 2 children which explores National Curriculum work in habitats, food webs and recycling.

Using puppetry, digital projection, song and more than a little audience participation, the cast will take us on a fantastic roller-coaster journey around a world we didn't even know was right on our own doorstep… the world of Charlie's garden.

Charlie Muggins has it all; from the very latest toys, football kit and computer games to parents who dote on him. In fact they'll give him anything he wants - anything to keep him quiet, that is (Gulp!)

When the Muggins family move to a new house, however, Charlie demands more room to play outdoors; a sand pit, a slide, a toy castle, a climbing frame, a swing, a see-saw and and, and… oh, well, the whole back garden will just have to go…

Meanwhile the inhabitants of the garden are all just trying to get through another day without being eaten (Gulp!) Bluebottle has overheard some terrible news, Gus the Badger is all for fighting, the Snails are willing to help (only it'll take time to get the lads together).

The Goldfish are all of a dither, Wally the Earthworm doesn't know which way to turn, Hedgehog can feel one of his headaches coming on and indecisive old Squirrel is just sitting on the fence. Does Austin the Sunflower have anything to say on the matter?

When Charlie accidentally drops his pocket money into the old well, he has no idea he's supposed to make a wish - until the inhabitants of the garden gleefully make one for him … and Charlie's about to find out what life is really like in his own back garden.

Gulp! tours nationwide providing an innovative way of addressing issues of Citizenship and how young people care for the environment of their own doorsteps.

Key Stage 1 & 2

Programme of study: Science

Sc2 Life processes and living things; Living things in their environment

• Learn about the different plants and animals found in different habitats
• Use food chains to show feeding relationships in a habitat
• Learn bout how nearly all food chains start with a green plant

QCA scheme of work primary science unit 4B: Habitats

Testimonials

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For more information please call Rebecca on 01937 832740 or email rebecca@konfluxtheatre.co.uk

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