When Spring Comes - Poster
We follow Adeel on his journey of discovery from summer into winter as he anticipates the coming of spring.
When Spring Comes was a play about loss and rebirth, exploring the resilience of the human spirit in the face of adversity. This production for ages 3 to 7, fused Kathak & contemporary dance with live jazz music, against a backdrop of beautiful animation.
After the performance, the audience were invited to join Adeel on the stage and dance to the gentle improvised jazz rhythms of the play. The show featured contemporary Kathak dance by Vipul Bhatti and live jazz trumpet by Sean Corby.
This production was re-mounted for touring in 2014 with a saxophone/clarinet based jazz soundtrack by Alex Tosh who performed with the piece.
The production featured at the Southbank Centre’s Alchemy Festival and Leicester’s Spark Festival.
You can access the script of this play via the British Library’s MPS Modern Playscripts Collection.
Vipul Bhatti took part in Half Moon Theatre’s Exchange for Change programme, which allows artists from different artforms to collaborate on creating new pieces of work. Here Vipul, who’s a contemporary and Kathak dancer, talks about When Spring Comes, which he created with a visual artist and jazz trumpeter. Interviewed by Caitlin Ralph.
Chris Elwell has been the Director of Half Moon Theatre on White Horse Road since 1997. He talks about When Spring Comes, a piece for under 5s with a contemporary Kathak dancer and a jazz trumpeter. Interviewed by Kavana Joyett.
Animation by Amberin Huq for the backdrop of When Spring Comes.
“Very absorbing and communicative. Thank you!”
“Loved the fusion of Kathak with contemporary dance & jazz! The interpretation with the backdrop & audience was interesting. Thank you for a wonderful performance.”
“We all thought it was a beautiful performance. The illustrations and music and dance combined to make a magical journey through the seasons. Lovely.”
“Lovely music and dancing – just the right level of sound and light, and a very friendly and inclusive atmosphere.”
“I like the snow and the trees”
Martha (2 and half years)
“Lovely music and dancing – very engaging. 2 year old sat still throughout.”
“My nearly 4 year old thought it was a very good show. He liked the eyes in the tree and the butterfly and the falling down parts the best.”
“Amazing! Incredible dancing and music, loved the spring bits best – butterfly hands and rabbit dancing was brilliant. Backgrounds were beautiful and really brought the performance alive, loved the galling autumn leaves best!”
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