Kids Critics: The Lost Lending Library

What happens in the show?

We did the show. No one else did the show, we did the show. We were the performers. I just walked around. Other people found things but I didn’t find anything at all. It wasn’t a show place. It was just a library. The show didn’t have a name. It wasn’t a show, anyway.

What did you like most about the show?

Everything. 

At the end somebody tells us a story about a spider and the spider got washed down the plug hole and he found himself in Spiderville. But I really do not want to hear it again.

Was there anything you didn’t like?

No. Well, I didn’t like that they didn’t get my attention whenever I put my hand up. 

[This version of events is disputed by other witnesses.]

Oran particularly enjoyed The Lost Lending Library. Self-portrait, mixed-crayola on paper, 2023

What did your grown-up think?

A trainee librarian welcomes the children, introducing a magical lending library that travels the world with all of human knowledge, reconfiguring each time… But the lending library is lost! The children must choose a book and weave a story using their collective imaginations. There’s some sleight of hand, a bit of a treasure hunt, some guided exploration of the magical set. Oran enjoyed it, particularly getting to make false claims about Charles Dickens being his favourite author. Engaging, immersive, explorative, imaginative storytelling.

Would you tell your friends to go?

Which friends? 

[Specific examples provided] 

Yes I’d tell all of them.