Children's Express journalists review what's on offer at the 2001 Belfast Festival at Queens.
| The adults portraying young people were extremely convincing – they talked and walked just like me... |
Decky Does A Bronco, a play by Grid Iron (October 29) focused on a young boy living in a housing estate in Ayr, Scotland. The play was performed outside in Dunville Park and the stage was a set of swings.
"The venue was very clever because at the same time the acting was going on, kids were playing in the background and that is kind of what the whole thing was about," Jonny Clarke, 13 said.
The central theme of the play looked at the life of the central character Decky, who was an unhappy little fellow but full of beans.
"This is the best play I have seen in the Belfast festival. The acting was excellent. The adults portraying young people were extremely convincing," Jonny said.
"The actors talked and walked just like me when I was younger. They even played games like Star Wars and A-team, which are the games I used to play," he added.
The actors engaged the audience immediately by chatting with people and they made every-one feel part of what was going on.
"I don't think they meant it to happen, but a dog walked on stage, the actors just improvised around it, finally the dog just wandered off - it was quite a good actor."
The play rolled on as every-one kind of expected it to - until the end when something drastic happened changing the whole tone of the play into a more dark affair.
"I would definitely recommend Decky Does a Bronco to all ages but make sure you bring warm clothes!" Jonny said.
About the team
This article was produced by Jonny Clarke, 13. It was published on the Belfast Festival website.
