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This review is of the show's run in 2010
Will Bob the Borrower escape the clutches of the evil KBD society? He very nearly didn't on the day I went to the BAC. At the climax of this quirky promenade show for children, Bob (an unseen two-inch-high hero) flees in a helium balloon-powered escape pod. Thanks to Lavender Hill's high winds and high buildings, the high hopes of 30 primary school children were very nearly brought crashing down to earth with him.
BAC's trademark ingenuity thrives on taking risks like this - and on investing in the process of theatre, sometimes at the expense of the final product. Luckily, kids seem to be stimulated by open-endedness and fascinated with this particular process of promenading got up like mad inventors in white coats and boffin specs. Their quasi-educational mission is to find evidence of the Borrowers' existence. And the tiny furnishings that await them in various nooks are delightfully dinky.
The idealistic, pacifist values of the show are reflected in one room that's been turned into a museum of international artefacts from Borrowers. The miniature dining room from Italy, with furniture made from pasta shapes, is especially cunning. Kazuko Hohki has created a delightful event where what you get out of it will depend on what you're willing to put in.
By Caroline McGinn