Looking for fun in the sun with the whole family this month? Look no further than Mooney’s Bay at the Pirate Life stage for Chris Marlow Liv’s Theatre Company and their pantomime performance of Robin Hood.
Every Sunday in June, you can catch this classic tale full of puppets, sword fights, and lots of laughter.
“We started the company last summer,” says member of the company Chris Torti. “We focus on Medieval plays through the eras of 800 through 1200 AD. This summer, we’re doing something a little different, where we’re doing a pantomime based on Robin Hood.”
Torti says the idea was conceptualized over the winter months with his two co-stars Fatmia Karim and Marlow Stanfield over Google Docs when Stanfield suggested the idea for a pantomime.
Poster for Chris Marlow Liv’s Theatre Company’s performance of Robin Hood. Photo provided.
“Everything’s original in this hour-long show, and I’m super happy about it,” says Torti. “We opened last week, and it was really a hit with people of all ages.”
While this story is a take on a children’s classic, it’s meant for an all-ages audience that includes just about everything your weekend family plans could want.
“We include dancing, have a puppet show in the middle of the show, the characters we created are very fun, there’s sword fighting, so there’s lots of action and interaction with the audience,” says Torti. “We feed off of what we’re being given.”
Torti plays the villain in this performance, and says that the most enjoyable part of the show is the laughs he gets from both children and adults.
“There’s parts of the performance where you’re making the kids and the adults laugh at the same thing, about different things sometimes,” he says. “When those [jokes] land, and when you get both laughing, that’s a real joy.”
Cast of Robin Hood. Photo provided.
The performance is also very mobile, and a lot of the props and costumes are repurposed throughout the show. Torti says the intention is to be able to bring this show and others to different venues.
“We don’t have much in terms of [costumes or set pieces] so we keep it simple,” says Torti. “We repurpose the same things and we’ve been strategically minimalist on props.”
Torti is excited to keep performing and bringing joy to audiences of all ages this summer.
“We just want people to enjoy the time, laugh together,” he says. “Sometimes we all just need to enjoy the day, and I think that’s one of the real takeaways I want for the show.”
Make sure you catch Chris Marlow Liv’s Theatre Company’s pantomime performance of Robin Hood from 6-7 pm every Sunday this June at Mooney’s Bay (588 Hog’s Back Rd., Ottawa). The performance is pay-what-you-can with a suggested $20 donation. For more information about the performance, visit the company’s website or their Instagram.
