Inspired by the illustrations, life and nonsense poems of Edward Lear, My Uncle Arly takes you on an absurdly comic journey into the imagination of one of Britain's favourite writers.
Shon Dale-Jones weaves together Lear's poetry with original songs and comic recreations of some of his best-loved characters.
Shon says: "My UNcle Arly was made through a very collaborative process. Everything happened at the same time. Inspired by the life and work of Edward Lear, we all entered the rehearsal room ready to improvise.
"The music, the songs, the design and the scenes arrived through continuous improvisation between the actors, the musician and the designer.
"One idea led to another and the more we played with the poems and illustrations the more the theatrical possibilities arrived.
"The story of The Jumblies and The Pelican Chorus and the story of Lear's own life led us to use the idea of leaving somewhere to never return as the central narrative for the show.
"I hope the show inspires the audience to dip into his work and discover the joy of escaping to worlds of fantasy, bringing back great colour to your everyday."
This is delightful and extraordinary theatre for all ages.
FRIDAY 8 OCTOBER 2004 HOIPOLLOI: MY UNCLE ARLY mac, Cannon Hill Park, Bham, £10.90, £7.60 concs, 8pm. Tel: 0121 440 3838 www.macarts.co.uk & www.hoipolloi.org.uk
Comedy Festival 
