Guest Review: Nivelli's War by Cahoots NI at the MAC Belfast

By Dylan O'Rawe, aged 10

Tonight my mum and I went to see Nivelli's War.  It was the story of how a little boy called Ernst was evacuated to his aunt's house in the country when his city was bombed in World War 2.  He loved his mum very much and did not want to leave her, but it was too dangerous for him to stay and so he had to go so he would be safe.

When the war was over, a nice man helped him to find his way home even though when they first met each other they hated each other.  He showed Ernst magic tricks and then Ernst learned to do them himself.  When he grew up he became the great Nivelli, a magician.

I thought the story was really nice and I thought it was happy and sad.  I loved the magic tricks and the smoke which made it really spooky sometimes.  The music was cool and sometimes made me feel like something bad was going to happen.

My mum knows some people in the show and I knew Michael and Kerri because I've met them before with my mum.  All the actors were great but I thought that the great Nivelli was the best because he was really old and remembering back a long time and that was hard to act.  I loved Michael's smoke too and wanted there to be more, but I'm glad I wasn't sitting at the front.

I think all children should go to see the show because stories about the war are important for children to know about and history is really interesting.  If you like magic then you will love the trick at the end but my mum said not to write it here or I would spoil the surprise!

Dylan

Nivelli's War is at the MAC Belfast until Tuesday 11 March. Click here for tickets 

For tour dates check the Cahoots NI website by clicking here     

    

   

Coming Up: Brassneck's Man In The Moon at the Belfast Waterfront

Man in the Moon brings captivating local theatre to Belfast Waterfront’s Studio from Wednesday 19 to Saturday 29 March.  (No performance on Sunday 23 March).

“A brave and stirring piece of theatre… marvellously engaging.”

(Irish Theatre Magazine)

Written by acclaimed playwright Pearse Elliott and starring Ciaran Nolan - one of Ireland’s most gifted young actors - this one man show is brought to you by Belfast's Brassneck Theatre Company, the producers of smash-hit shows The Sweety Bottle and A Night With George.

“Funny, fast-paced and unexpectedly poignant.”  

(Culture NI)

Powerful, poignant and funny, this darkly comedic roller-coaster is the tender story of one man’s resolve to overcome the worst that life has to throw at him.  Sean Doran has recently been fired from his dead-end job. To make matters worse, his girlfriend has left him, taking their child, and the bank has just repossessed his house.

And so, we find Sean alone by the Half Moon Lake, a natural lagoon in the middle of Lenadoon Housing Estate in West Belfast, which although beautiful is known as a place of tragedy.

“Belly laughs, scene after scene.”  

(Irish News)

Over the course of one moonlit evening he takes us on a soul-searching journey through life, love and death, via his past, present and future.  He takes us on a ghost hunt of some of the funny people he has known and hilarious situations he has experienced in his life, whilst trying to fashion sense of his recent run of bad luck.

“Brassneck have pushed their creative boundaries with this play, which although comedic in many senses, deals with deeply serious and relevant subject matters.”

Writer, Pearse Elliott

“I have drawn parallels with the classic movie, ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’. Sean is our George Bailey and throughout Man In The Moon he talks and tries to make sense of his life and all the bad events that have come his way.  Reflecting on the people he has lost to suicide, Sean looks for a way to deal with everything and troop on. This is a story of survival, choices and how we can make a difference in this world.”

Director Tony Devlin

Man in the Moon is recommended for ages 15+ and contains strong language.

Tickets for Man in the Moon are available at www.waterfront.co.uk