A delightful way to spend a Sunday with a five-year-old

The Snail and the Whale stage show was a delightful way to spend a Sunday afternoon with a five-year-old.

The show, based on the book, was part of the Bermuda Festival of the Performing Arts and was held at the Earl Cameron Theatre in City Hall.

My son, Amari, and I went to see the show on Sunday and weren’t sure what to expect. 

He was intrigued solely because ‘snail’ and ‘whale’ rhyme (he’s at the age of rhyming everything).

When we arrived all the other children were excited so we figured it would be good.

And good it was.

The show is about a tiny snail who jumps onto the tail of a whale and sets out to see the world. 

The snail is really a little girl and the whale is her father who is in the Navy.

The premise is basically a little girl begging her dad to tell her a story before she has to go to sleep. He is due to leave for the Navy the next day.

Dad doesn’t end up telling her the story, but sends her a package while he’s out to sea of a story he has recorded for her about the snail and the whale.

Long story short, the snail and the whale travel the seas together until one day the whale goes too close to shore and becomes beached in the bay.

The snail must do whatever she can to save the whale.

It is very interactive and filled with song and dance. Audience participation is a must and the children seemed to enjoy when it was their turn to answer a question or sing a song.

My son said his favourite part was when the sharks were coming. 

He didn’t like it when the audience was sprayed with water guns, part of the scene of saving the whale.

The best part for me was the sound effects on the violin — a very talented violinist.

All in all, this was a fun kids’ show.”