Plays For Kids: Goldilocks and the Three Bears in Mandarin
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. This is a MUST-WATCH play for you and your little ones.
Even though their mother is of Chinese origin, the Mandarin language is one subject that my kids struggle with the most. So anything that exposes them to the language is worth a shot in my books. Today we are watching the classic tale of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. In Mandarin.
I was anxious about how much of the play my kids could understand and therefore hold their attention. But my worries were for naught. The kids absolutely love it, and so did I. In fact, the play was so entertaining and informative, the entire audience of moms, dads, kids — many Mandarin speakers and many non-Mandarin speakers LOVE it!
We LOVE the set, the costumes, the music, the dancing, the dialogue, the characters. In other words, we LOVE everything about this play. And I am not saying this because we were invited to review the play but because I sincerely enjoyed it, even as an adult.
Check out how delighted they are to watch the play.
From the very beginning, the energetic and upbeat music set a positive vibe for the play. Then the Bears came onstage and they were so adorable and appealing, you cannot help but love them. I don’t want to spoil the play for you. This play has witty humor, great music, fantastic acting, interactive elements with the audience (the kids) and plenty of moments that we can relate to Mama Bear, Papa Bear, and Baby Bear.
Every kid in the play will remember Mama Bear’s oatmeal porridge recipe IN MANDARIN!!
And who does not love the itchy song by the bears???
Little Goldilocks was endearing and appealing in her youthful attitude. Her cheeky catch phase – which I will not repeat here so as not to spoil it for you and your kids (clue: the catchphrase is accompanied with thumbs up or thumbs down) was quickly adopted by my daughter.
I also love the use of 成语 (phrasal terms) like 水落石出 (shui luo shi chu) — meaning the truth will come out in the play. You may need to explain some of these phrases to the younger ones, but those in upper primary levels will definitely get it.
Because the storyline is a familiar one to your kids, this is a great play to reinforce their Mandarin language and usage of words and phrases. It was like a fun Mandarin class without the stress of reading and writing. Brilliant!!
I will also like to take a minute to commend spoken Mandarin of the actors. They enunciated their words accurately and were splendid in their acting, dancing, and singing.
All in all, we had a lot of FUN – just check out the smiles on the kids’ faces… It was definitely an hour WELL-SPENT!
Thank you SRT for inviting us to review this play. We had such an amazing time at the play. This is an absolutely brilliant play and I enjoyed my time watching it. Go catch it! It’s only in theatre from 11 to 29 March 2015.
Book your tickets NOW and watch 金发姑娘和三只熊 – Goldilocks and the Three Bears in Mandarin!
