Why This Wordless Kids’ Theatre Show Might Be the Most Fun You Have All Summer

At first glance, SPLAT! is a high-energy, paint-splattered riot of a theatre show - part clowning, part chaos, and all kid-friendly. But beneath the slapstick lies a genuinely clever journey through art history.

Currently in the midst of a 25+ date UK tour, director Jack Kelly explains to Cultural Dose that the show’s wordless storytelling and joyful physicality are built on the idea that failure is central to creativity, and that art belongs to everyone, whether you’re three, thirty, or just very, very messy.

SPLAT! is gloriously messy and vibrant – but under the surface, there’s a journey through art history. What inspired you to combine slapstick with the great masters?

Well the Great Masters and slapstick are perhaps not as far apart as you might think.  In any artistic endeavour there are mistakes, wrong turns, mishaps.  Failure as I think any great artist would tell you is a huge part of the creative process.  You have to get it wrong before you get it right. So actually, it felt like really natural territory for these two hapless artists. It was a very nice way to represent the creative struggle through physical failure through the body tripping over and getting tangled up with each other.  It felt very organic to combine these great artists who are incredibly revered and celebrated with these two hapless fools on stage who can’t seem to get anything right and I think that there’s something of that in the creative journey.  It is full of those mistakes and pitfalls.  Just like all of us young and old, we get it wrong, we stumble and that’s how we learn.  You can see that in the works of the great masters too.  It takes time and you’ve got to be prepared to fail.    

Which art movements are included in the show? And how are they presented?

Movements covered in the show begin with the very first piece of human art ever created.  Well, our interpretation of that.  Art historians might take issue with it but we’re very proud of what we’ve come up with.  From there we go through Renaissance with its clean lines and beauty.  Romanticism; full of big emotions.  Impressionism; lyrical, beautiful and a bit strange.  Expressionism; wild and chaotic.  Surrealism; bizarre and dreamy.  Minimalism; very ordered and neat. Pop art; bold bright, playful and fun.  Graffiti; mischievous and secret. Finally, we come to contemporary art covering the young British artists of the 90s like Damien Hirst and Tracy Emin. Often with the artistic movement there’s a musical movement that goes alongside.  For example, for Impressionism there was Debussy, with Minimalism there was Philip Glass and Steve Reich. The Velvet Underground in New York went alongside Andy Warhol and pop art.  Hip-hop was very intertwined with graffiti in New York in the 80s and then of course Britpop with the young British artist of the 90s. So we use music, movement and dance to bring those artistic eras to life.  Hopefully capturing the spirit of them.

Is there a moment in the show that always gets a big reaction – from kids or grown-ups?

There is a moment. I don’t wanna give too much away but let’s say there is a splat that happens early on the show and that always gets a reaction and I think the day it doesn’t we know we’re in trouble! It’s always a good marker that the audience is on board with the show if that gets a big reaction early on everything else will follow.  It’s very satisfying as it lands with children and adults. Those moments where everyone in the audience young and old reacts simultaneously are really special and one of the best things about this kind of theatre.  

The show doesn’t use a single word. 

Why was it important for you to make it completely language-free?

We wanted to make a show that anyone could come and watch.  You don’t need to know anything about art. You don’t need to have ever been to the theatre before, but you can come and you can enjoy the show.  There are certain things that are universal. We have found that an adult falling over on their bottom is funny to everyone! We wanted to make a show where everyone, young and old can meet and share a moment. There’s something quite lovely when you have multiple generations from small children right up to Grandparents all laughing at the same thing. That for me is that the best thing about live performance as it brings us all together in a room and we share something. As a company we’re really committed to removing as many obstacles as possible we want our work to be available to as many people as possible.  

You're nearly at the end of a 25-stop UK tour – how have audiences differed from town to town?

As I said already certain things seem to make everybody laugh.  In lots of ways the audiences aren’t that different wherever we go. It does vary from town to town some are very up for it from the start, and some take a bit more time to warm up, but when they do, they really love it.  There’s a thing that often happens in family theatre; you might have parents or grandparents who are very enthusiastic and the child or children are not so sure, so it takes them a bit of time to get into it and eventually they meet and share that enthusiasm. As if by osmosis it transfers across.  Sometimes it’s the other way round the kids are really excited and the parents think ‘maybe this isn’t for me…maybe I can sneak a look at my phone, perhaps I can switch off for the next 50 minutes..?’ but then such is the enthusiasm of their child that they end up getting drawn in and that again is a lovely thing to witness. I don’t want to start creating rivalries between the different towns, but certain places are very good at guessing the artwork and other places are just less bothered.  Some people are very proud to come up and tell us all of the artwork that they’ve guessed correctly. 

SPLAT! seems to speak to kids’ creative instincts – what do you hope the kids AND the adults in the audience take away from it? 

Yeah, absolutely the show is very much a celebration of creativity and play.  I don’t think you need to tell children how important play is, they’re very much in touch with it so they don’t need to be reminded of that! I would hope in seeing the show they’re inspired to go home and create a bit of chaos and a bit of a mess and have some fun. I hope that they get a glimpse into the power that they have as children. Some of the most celebrated artists in the world look up to children and admire their creativity and freedom of expression.  For adults, I think sometimes we do need to be reminded to play, to get down and get dirty, make a mess and not take ourselves too seriously. I hope the adults come out of this show with a desire to express themselves and to make fools of themselves.  To know that that’s an important part of life and an important example to set for your children too. 

SPLAT! is currently on tour in the UK and will be visiting venues in Kent, Essex, Hampshire, Surrey, Devon, Cambridgeshire and London among others. For tickets and more information, visit www.ofthejackel.co.uk/splat