Review: Bake!

Pavilion Theatre, Dún Laoghaire, Co Dublin

****

Conceived and performed by Paul Curley, Bake! takes the familiar ritual of a birthday party and turns it into something extra special. The plot centres on Madeline, daughter of the royal baker, who is called on to assist her father in creating a celebratory cake for the heir incumbent, Prince Frederick. However, Bake! is more than an exercise in storytelling. It engages its young audience of 4 to 6 year-olds by inviting them to perform a series of tasks that will bring the plot to its fruition, while also structuring the narrative.

Ger Clancy's set playfully encourages the spectator's participation, on both the imaginary and active planes. Its skeletal plastic-pipe structure is filled with brightly coloured discs that are stacked upon its makeshift shelves. It is at times an oven, a mock-up of the palace, and the royal park's elaborate maze. Director Philip Hardy, meanwhile, encourages maximum attention by positioning much of the audience on cushions the floor, creating a comfortable inclusivity that ensures participation at key moments of action, as the children scramble up to stack layers of cake in colour and size order, in accordance with the recipes that Curley provides. Curley is also clear in signposting those moments, and improvises nicely when several more volunteers than expected invade the stage.

After 45 minutes, the story drifts casually into chaos, as Prince Frederick destroys the cake that Madeline and her real-life assistants worked so hard to bake for him. This moment of unexpected violence reorients the task-based performance as the type of tale that a moral absurdist such as Maurice Sendak would be proud of; the icing on the cake.

At The Dock, Carrick-on-Shannon March 6th, Siamsa Tíre Tralee April 2nd and Axis Ballymun April 9th