OGO is a journey where friendship, joy and imagination fill time.

 

They are three. They do not know one another but all three received an invitation from OGO to go away. They do not know OGO but they long to go away. And so they wait. They wait for OGO.

 

 

Ogo, the production created for wee souls (petits âmes) from the Canadian company of that very name, Théâtre des Petits Âmes.

We will meet Olive (Isabelle Payant) who’s had an invitation from someone called Ogo to ‘go away’. Soon she’s joined by Grégoire (Stéphane Heine) who also has such an invitation and joins her in the wait. As time goes on, the two strangers are joined by a third. This turns out to be Oscar (Patrick Beauchemin) who also holds an invitation from the mysterious Ogo, so the trio sets about waiting. And waiting.

 

So, who is Ogo? None of the invitees knows and he remains elusive while revealing himself enough for each of the three to know of his having a round face with one blue and one green eye.

 

In this Waiting for Godot for wee ones, the lesson of how we all bring our own experiences to every situation to make it transformative is brought to life. Using skills that make things look deceptively simple, the trio uses some fine puppetry and shadow play as they pass their time, along with a scene of some magical light tricks involving dancing masks. Add extending ladders and disappearing fish and you have 40 minutes packed with intrigue to hold the attention of small people.

 

Music played on harmonica, melodica, kalimba and xylophone by Isabelle Payant features throughout, with the addition of a bit of washboard percussion and some clever orchestration of throat clearing and humming.

It is a singular gift for adult theatre-makers to create something that tunes right to the level of young children and that is exactly what Théâtre des Petits Âmes has done with this charming, gentle piece that hits the top spot of the giggle and gasp barometer.

 

 

Idea and design: Isabelle Payant
On stage: Patrick Beauchemin, Stéphane Heine and Isabelle Payant
Light: Nancy Longchamp
Music: Isabelle Payant
Stage Manager: Stéphane Guy

 

With the generous collaboration of Stéphane Heine, Anne Brulotte-Légaré and Patrick Beauchemin

 

 

Created in 2007, Le Théâtre des Petites Âmes (Small Souls) was born from a desire to offer small-scale puppet, object and mask theatre productions. Stories and dreams come to life in a small scale theatre format where reality and imagination coalesce. Micro-universes are created before small audiences to provide an intimate contact with the spectator. Our productions are available in English, French and Spanish. Our first mandate is to offer theatre for small children. This no worry formula is tailored to young children between the ages of two and five. The Théâtre des Petites Âmes will also offer productions for adult audiences to cater to the child within.